Process groups
Unstructured or loosely structured time where members bring what's actually happening in their week and get real-time feedback from peers and a facilitating therapist. This is where most emotional work happens.
Group therapy · Arlington, VA
Group therapy in Arlington, Virginia
Process groups, skills groups, and psychoeducation form the backbone of PHP and IOP, giving you peer accountability and real-time feedback that individual therapy alone can't provide, for adults in Arlington, Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia.
- Most insurance accepted
- Day & evening IOP tracks
- Telehealth for Virginia residents only
Medically reviewed by the VABH Medical Team
Types of group we run
Not all group therapy is the same
Different goals call for different kinds of groups. Programs weave several types together across the week.
Skills groups
Structured sessions teaching a specific skill — distress tolerance, emotion regulation, communication — with practice built into the same hour, most often drawn from DBT and CBT.
Learn more about Skills groupsPsychoeducation groups
Didactic sessions on topics like the neuroscience of addiction, the stages of change, or how sleep affects mood. Less about processing, more about giving you a working model to think with.
Relapse prevention groups
Focused on identifying personal triggers, high-risk situations, and specific plans for the first 48 hours after discharge, run by clinicians who know each member's history.
Learn more about Relapse prevention groupsFamily systems and relationship groups
Group work on how substance use or mental illness reshapes family roles, and how to rebuild trust and communication once treatment is underway.
Grief and loss groups
For clients carrying loss connected to their addiction or mental health history, run separately from general process groups so the focus stays on grief itself.
Co-occurring disorders groups
Group work specifically for clients managing both a substance use disorder and a mental health diagnosis, where both are treated as real and connected rather than one dismissed as secondary.
What a group day looks like
Structure, norms, and why group works
Group only works if the room is safe. Here's how we structure it and what we expect from every member.
A typical PHP group day
Morning check-in group, a psychoeducation block, a process group before lunch, an afternoon skills group, and a closing check-out — roughly six hours, five days a week.
A typical IOP group day
A three-hour block combining one skills or psychoeducation group with one process group, scheduled in a morning or evening track three to five days a week.
Group norms set on day one
Confidentiality, no cross-talk during someone else's turn, no minimizing another member's pain, and no using during the program. These are reviewed with every new member before their first group.
Confidentiality in a group setting
What's said in group stays in group. Members agree to this explicitly, and facilitators intervene immediately if it's tested. It is different from individual confidentiality, since it depends on everyone in the room, not just staff.
Why group is the backbone of IOP
Peer accountability catches things a therapist alone can't. Hearing someone else describe your exact excuse, from across the room, does more to interrupt it than another lecture ever could.
Learn more about Why group is the backbone of IOPGroup size and composition
Groups are kept small enough that everyone gets airtime, and composed with an eye toward diagnosis and stage of recovery so the room has enough in common to be useful.
Group plus individual therapy
Group builds skills and provides peer accountability; your individual sessions are where those skills get applied to your specific history. Programs are built to run both together.
Learn more about Group plus individual therapyLevels of care
Group therapy across our programs
The more intensive the level of care, the larger a role group plays in your weekly schedule.
- 015 days/week · ~6 hrs/day
Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP)
Group is the majority of your day — process, skills, and psychoeducation groups anchor a highly structured schedule alongside individual and psychiatric care.
- 023–5 days/week · day or evening
Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)
Group is the primary treatment modality, run in morning or evening tracks so it fits around work or school in Arlington or DC.
- 03Weekly · ongoing
Outpatient group options
Ongoing weekly aftercare or alumni groups for people who've stepped down from PHP or IOP and want continued peer accountability.
- 04Virginia-statewide
Telehealth group therapy
Full group sessions by secure video for Virginia residents, since our clinicians are licensed in Virginia. In-person group care serves Virginia, Maryland, and DC.
Across the river from Maryland
Convenient for Maryland commuters
Our Arlington center is a short drive from Bethesda, Montgomery County, and Prince George's County. Maryland clients regularly attend in-person group therapy here as part of PHP or IOP, and evening tracks keep treatment compatible with a DC workday. Telehealth sessions are available for Virginia residents.
Common questions
Group therapy questions, answered
What's the difference between process groups and skills groups?
Process groups are where members bring current struggles and get feedback in the moment, closer to open conversation. Skills groups are structured and didactic, teaching a specific technique like a distress tolerance skill, with practice built in. Most programs run both.
What does a group day actually look like?
In PHP, a typical day includes a morning check-in, a psychoeducation block, a process group, an afternoon skills group, and a closing check-out, over roughly six hours. In IOP, groups run in a three-hour block, three to five days a week.
I'm afraid to talk in group. Is that a dealbreaker?
No, and it's extremely common. Nobody is forced to speak before they're ready. Facilitators create low-pressure entry points, and most people find that hearing others go first makes it easier to participate over the following few sessions.
Is what I say in group confidential?
Yes. Every member agrees to keep what's shared in group inside the room, and facilitators reinforce this from day one. It's a different kind of confidentiality than individual therapy, since it depends on the whole group, not just staff.
Why is group considered the backbone of IOP?
Group provides peer accountability and real-time feedback that individual therapy alone can't replicate. Hearing a peer name the same excuse or pattern you use tends to interrupt it faster than being told the same thing by a clinician.
Will I be grouped with people who have very different diagnoses than me?
We build group composition with an eye toward diagnosis and stage of recovery, so the room has enough shared ground to be clinically useful, while still reflecting the range of people we treat.
Is group therapy available by telehealth?
Yes, for Virginia residents. Our clinicians are licensed in Virginia, so telehealth group sessions are offered statewide. In-person group therapy at our Arlington center is open to Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC residents.
In-person care at 5400 Shawnee Road, Arlington, VA for VA, MD, and DC residents. Telehealth for Virginia residents only.
If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or call 911.
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- Admissions — 24/7(571) 586-2883
- Location5400 Shawnee Road, Arlington, VA
Insurance accepted
Insurance coverage for group therapy
Group therapy delivered through PHP and IOP is a covered behavioral health benefit under most commercial plans — Anthem, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Optum, Sentara Health Plans, UMR, and Johns Hopkins Health Plans. Send us your card and we'll confirm your benefits before you begin.
Don't see your plan? Call us — we also work with out-of-network benefits and self-pay.