Group Therapy for Anxiety and Depression

Have you been suffering with depression or with a somber mood lately? Have you been dealing with persistent anxiety, despite your attempts to overcome it?

Mindspace offers a number of approaches to group therapy for addressing anxiety and depression, including Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

About Cognitive Behaviour Group Therapy

CBT Group Therapy is an action-oriented therapeutic approach that has been scientifically proven to treat depression and anxiety. It is intended for individuals with mood and/or anxiety difficulties who wish to benefit from an 8-week group therapy. The goal of group therapy is, among others, to allow you to better understand your current state as well as to develop tools to improve your mood and to better manage your anxiety in an interactive setting. Acquiring these tools and the skills that accompany them can also help you adapt to future situations.

About Acceptance and Commitment Group Therapy

ACT is a mindfulness-based cognitive-behaviour type of therapy that has been scientifically shown to be effective to treat depression and anxiety. ACT is an active treatment that involves learning skills that will help you be less affected by difficult thoughts and feelings, clarify what brings meaning and purpose to your life, and commit to taking steps to move in that direction on an ongoing basis.

This group therapy is for you if you currently:

  • Feel depressed, including symptoms such as low humour, a feeling of void or despair, low motivation or lack of interest, excessive negative thinking.
  • You have difficulties with excessive anxiety, acute stress or anxiety, panic attacks, social anxiety, phobias or health-related anxiety (hypochondria).
  • You have somatic symptoms such as: muscular tension, feeling restless, over excited or nervous, having trouble relaxing or sleeping.
  • You feel irritable, excessively tired, you have difficulty concentrating, you notice changes in your sleep and/or eating habits or appetite.

Programs Waiting List

This program is currently either full or not being offered at the moment. If you would like to be notified when a spot opens up or when it is next offered, please fill out the form below.
    You can select more than one option

What to expect in a CBT Group

During 8 weeks of psycho-education, practical exercises, group dialogues and home practice, you will learn:

  • What are depression and anxiety, as well as the mechanisms that maintain these psychological states
  • How to act to break these mechanisms and improve your mood
  • Various relaxation techniques
  • How to better understand your emotions and their function in your life
  • How to recognize and reinterpret counter-productive thoughts
  • How to better manage interpersonal conflicts

What to expect in an ACT Group

Participants will meet for eight consecutive weeks, the active part of the treatment, and learn ACT skills through experiential exercises, small and large group discussions, and home practice.

There will be two additional follow-up sessions, each spaced a month apart, to help integrate and consolidate the learned skills and apply them in daily life on an ongoing basis.

During each 2.5-hour session you will learn to:

  • Notice what is keeping you stuck in life
  • Cultivate mindfulness
  • Gain perspective on negative and unhelpful thoughts
  • Open up to painful emotions with self-compassion
  • Identify values and develop goals that will contribute meaning and purpose in one’s life
  • Take concrete steps toward a life that is consistent with your chosen values and goals

Other treatment options:

  • If you feel well, but you would like to acquire tools to prevent relapse of the symptoms above, MBCT is better indicated for you.
  • If it is too difficult for you to take part in a weekly group (for any reason), individual cognitive-behaviour therapy would be ideal for you.

Important: If you have a severe problem with substance abuse or alcohol, or if you have had psychotic episodes in the past, this group is not recommended for you and we recommend requesting an appointment for individual therapy.

Can’t find what you’re looking for?

Try some of the other programs we offer