The Power of Healing in Community
I've been reflecting on something I'm noticing more and more in my practice, and I wanted to share these thoughts with you.
Individual and couples therapy offer something irreplaceable, a confidential space where you can explore your deepest vulnerabilities, process pain, and work through personal challenges without judgement. This privacy is sacred, and it's often exactly what we need to begin healing.
But I'm observing something curious. Many of us are healing exclusively in private.
What I'm coming to understand more deeply, while private therapy helps us understand ourselves, community helps us practice being ourselves, with all our messiness, needs, and humanity, alongside others.
In group settings, something remarkable happens that simply cannot occur in individual sessions. We learn to:
Express our feelings in real-time with people who aren't our therapist and discover that our emotions can exist in relationships without destroying connection.
Navigating differences rather than avoiding them, building the muscle of staying present when perspectives clash.
Witness others' struggles and realize we're not alone in our pain, shame, or confusion.
Form relationships with healthy boundaries, practicing what appreciate closeness and distance actually feel like
Developing our sense of self not in isolation, but in the dynamic space of being seen by multiple people.
Build tolerance for disappointment, for not being enough, for things not going as planned, and discovering we can survive these moments together.
Practice speaking our truth even when it's uncomfortable, even when we don't know how it will be received.
Allow ourselves to be truly seen, which is often more terrifying and more healing than any private confession.
Self regulation is important, but so is co-regulation. The ability to find equilibrium in connection with others. We learn this through practice, through fumbling, though repairing ruptures when we've misstepped. Individual therapy can teach us about boundaries intellectually; community teaches us how to hold them in the moment, with real people making rela demands on our time, energy, and emotional space.
I'm not suggesting we abandon the privacy of individual work. Rather, I'm inviting us to consider, what if we balanced the deep, private excavation of therapy with consistent communal experiences?
What if we created intentional spaces where healing doesn't happen in isolation, but in the beautiful, messy, challenging work of being human together?
The world needs people who can navigate relationships, tolerate discomfort, express themselves authentically, and show up for one another. These aren't skills we can fully develop alone.
I'm exploring ways to offer more group experiences where we can practice these essential life skills together. If this resonates with you, I'd love to hear your thoughts. What does community mean to you? What would make you feel safe enough to heal not just privately, but together.
We were never meant to do this alone
With gratitude,
