Which is more important, group meetings or individual counseling? | Drug Addiction Treatment | Forum

I struggled for a while in college with some drug use, and I went to an individual counselor to try to get better. She was always trying to get me to go to group meetings too, but I resisted because I didn't feel comfortable talking in front of a lot of people. The individual treatment helped, but I wonder if I missed out on something by not trying the group meetings.

Yes to what Alvin said – it might also be that you use both. Some people may prefer to start in a group and then have more intense one-to-one. Others, like yourself who don't feel comfortable going into a group may do well to start with one-to-one work then benefit from sharing what you learn about yourself in those sessions with other people who have gone through similar experiences to yourself.

I think it depends on the person. Not everyone feels comfortable talking in groups, especially at first. Someone might try doing individual counseling then gradually easing into the group thing.