If you or someone you love is in crisis right now, including overdose risk or thoughts of self-harm, call 911 or 988 (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline). Villa’s admissions team can help you decide on next steps; call (818) 639-7160 any time
Group Therapy Types Offered at Villa
Group therapy at Villa includes multiple distinct types matched to different clinical purposes. Most clients participate in several group types each week:
- Process groups – open-ended therapeutic conversation where members work through current emotions, relationships, and recovery challenges with the group’s support; led by licensed clinicians; the foundation of group programming
- Psychoeducational groups – structured curriculum covering addiction, mental health diagnoses, brain chemistry, family systems, and recovery science; lecture-and-discussion format
- Skills-based groups – explicit instruction and practice in specific evidence-based skills: DBT (distress tolerance, emotion regulation, mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness), CBT (cognitive restructuring, behavioral activation), and others
- Relapse prevention groups – structured curriculum for substance use clients covering trigger identification, coping skill practice, high-risk situation planning, and relapse plan development
- Trauma-focused groups – process-oriented groups specifically for clients with trauma histories; informed by trauma-focused approaches; sometimes gender-specific when clinically appropriate
- 12-step facilitation groups – supports engagement with AA, NA, CA, and other 12-step community recovery programs alongside clinical care
- SMART Recovery groups – secular, science-based recovery framework alternative or complement to 12-step approaches
- Family education groups – for family members of clients in treatment; covers addiction, mental health, communication, and supporting recovery; see family therapy programs for related family work
- Specialty groups when enrollment supports them – gender-specific groups, executive groups, alumni groups, and other specialty populations
How Group Therapy Fits Into Villa's Programming
Group therapy is woven into the daily structure of every level of care:
Residential Treatment
- multiple groups per day; typically 4-6 hours of group programming daily across process, psychoeducational, and skills work
Partial Hospitalization (PHP)
- – 5-6 hours/day, 5 days/week with daily group therapy as the primary clinical contact
Intensive Continued Care
- 3 hours/day, 3 days/week structured around group therapy with individual sessions weekly
Continued Care Phase
- weekly process groups or skills groups for clients who have stepped down from higher-intensity care
Aftercare and Alumni
- see aftercare programs and alumni programs for ongoing community-recovery groups
Groups are facilitated by licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT) and Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW). Most groups have 6 to 10 participants – a size that supports individual participation while preserving the dynamics that make group therapy effective. Sessions typically run 60 to 90 minutes.
What to Expect in a Group Therapy Session
First-time group therapy participants commonly worry about confidentiality, what’s expected of them, and whether sharing is required. The standard structure at Villa:
- Confidentiality – all group members agree at the start of programming that what is shared in groups stays in groups. The clinical team is bound by HIPAA and 42 CFR Part 2 (for substance use treatment); group members are bound by the group agreement they sign
- No requirement to share immediately – new members often listen for the first session or two before participating verbally; this is expected and supported. Showing up matters more than performing
- Structure and facilitation – the licensed therapist guides the conversation, ensures no single person dominates, and keeps the group on the work it’s there to do
- Crisis support during groups – if a member becomes acutely distressed, the therapist can step out of the group with them for individual support while the group continues with another facilitator
- Coordination with individual therapy – group themes that are personally relevant to a member can be picked up in their individual therapy session that week
The goal of group therapy is the social learning that happens in a structured, therapeutic peer setting – something that individual therapy alone cannot replicate.
Conditions and Presentations Supported in Group Therapy
Group therapy is part of treatment for the conditions Villa treats:
- Substance use disorders – alcohol, opioids, stimulants, prescription drugs, polysubstance; see drug addiction treatment and alcohol rehab in Los Angeles
- Depression and mood disorders – see depression treatment and bipolar disorder treatment
- Anxiety disorders – see anxiety treatment
- PTSD and trauma – see PTSD treatment; often delivered in trauma-specific groups separate from general process groups
- Adult ADHD – see adult ADHD treatment
Co-occurring substance use and mental health – see dual diagnosis treatment
Why Group Therapy Works
Group therapy has strong research support across addiction and mental health treatment, particularly for several specific outcomes:
- Reduction of isolation and shame – hearing other people describe similar experiences directly counters the isolation that drives both addiction and many mental health symptoms.
- Real-time interpersonal feedback – group members offer honest reactions to one another’s patterns, which can reach clients in ways that a therapist alone cannot.
- Skill practice in a safe setting – communication skills, emotion regulation, and conflict resolution are practiced with real interpersonal stakes, then transferred to outside relationships.
- Witnessing others’ progress – seeing clients in different stages of recovery provides a concrete sense of what’s possible.
- Cost-effective therapeutic dose – group therapy delivers more clinical contact hours per dollar than individual therapy alone, supporting treatment intensity that insurance and budgets can sustain.
Group therapy is most effective when integrated with individual therapy and medication management. Villa’s program runs all three together; see individual therapy for the individual-session component.
Insurance, Cost and Admissions
Villa Treatment Center is in-network with Aetna, Cigna, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Cross of California, Health Net, and MHN, and works with most other major carriers on an out-of-network basis. Group therapy is part of the underlying level of care (residential, PHP, continued care, and therapy) and is not separately billed.
Verification takes 15 minutes by phone or 24 hours by online form.
To start: call (818) 639-7160 or use the insurance verification form.
Serving Woodland Hills, The San Fernando Valley, and Greater Los Angeles
Villa’s facility sits on Hood Drive in Woodland Hills, CA, accessible from Calabasas, Tarzana, Encino, Sherman Oaks, Northridge, West Hills, Canoga Park, Reseda, Van Nuys, Agoura Hills, Thousand Oaks, Glendale, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Malibu, and the broader Los Angeles County. Telehealth-based group therapy is available across California for continued care phases, while in-person groups are part of residential and PHP programming on-site.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does group therapy work at Villa?
Group therapy at Villa runs daily as part of residential, PHP, continued care and therapy programming. Sessions are 60 to 90 minutes with 6 to 10 participants and a licensed therapist as facilitator. Multiple group types run on rotation: process groups, psychoeducational groups, skills-based groups (DBT, CBT), relapse prevention groups, trauma-focused groups, and 12-step or SMART Recovery facilitation. Most clients participate in several types weekly.
What types of group therapy programs are available?
Process groups, psychoeducational groups, skills-based groups (DBT and CBT), relapse prevention groups, trauma-focused groups, 12-step facilitation, SMART Recovery, family education groups, and specialty groups when enrollment supports them (gender-specific, executive, alumni). The mix is matched to the client’s diagnosis and treatment phase.
How long are group therapy sessions?
Most group sessions run 60 to 90 minutes. Schedule frequency varies by level of care: residential clients participate in multiple groups daily, PHP clients participate in groups 5 days a week, IOP clients participate in groups 3 days a week, outpatient clients typically participate weekly.
How many people are in each group?
6 to 10 participants is the standard size at Villa. Smaller than that limits the group dynamics that make group therapy effective; larger than that reduces individual participation. The size supports active engagement while preserving the therapeutic community function.
What should I expect in my first session?
First sessions focus on orientation, group agreements, and beginning to know other members. New members are not required to share immediately; many listen for the first one or two sessions before participating verbally. The therapist guides format and pace.
How does group therapy work alongside individual therapy?
Group therapy and individual therapy work together. Themes that come up in group can be processed in individual therapy that week; insights from individual work can be applied in group conversations. Most clients benefit from both running together; the integration is part of the treatment plan.
Does insurance cover group therapy?
Group therapy is covered as part of the underlying level of care (residential, PHP, IOP, outpatient) under the behavioral health benefit. It is not separately billed. Verification takes 15 minutes; coverage rules vary by carrier and plan.
Is group therapy required, or can I choose individual therapy only?
For residential, PHP, and IOP, group therapy is a structural part of programming the clinical model relies on it. For outpatient phases, individual therapy without groups is an option for clients whose clinical situation supports it. Most clients benefit from both.
Are group sessions confidential?
Yes. The clinical team is bound by HIPAA and 42 CFR Part 2 (for substance use treatment, which is stronger than HIPAA alone). Group members agree at the start of programming that what is shared in groups stays in groups. This creates the trust that makes group therapy effective.