How Does Gender Influence What Happens In Therapy?
To get a better idea of the benefits of gender-specific group therapy, here is how boys and girls often handle emotions during adolescence.
Gender-Specific Therapy for Girls
A meta-analysis found that by the teenage years, girls are more likely to express internalizing emotions like sadness and anxiety.[4] These emotions are built through years of social learning, and by the time your teenage daughter reaches the therapy room, they may already be deep-seated emotions.
In a mixed gender group, these types of learned behaviors may get in the way of a girl’s progress in therapy. For example, if a teen girl needs to speak about body image or an experience that made her feel ashamed, she may not want to talk about it in front of boys.
Group therapy for teen girls creates space for conversations about the unique emotional experiences that may feel too vulnerable in a mixed session. Research has found that women reported feeling a lot safer and more comfortable in single gender settings.[5]
Other research also found that participants in an all-girls group therapy stated how they gained courage to accept themselves through being around other girls who understood what they were going through.[6]
Gender-Specific Therapy for Boys
The research on boys’ group therapy is less extensive, but clinical observations still hold weight.
A researcher who spent years working with adolescent boys found that many show deeper feelings when they’re talking with other boys. He stated that the relief of releasing emotional tension stood in sharp contrast with the rest of their lives.[7]
It was also found that boys are much more likely to express the emotion of anger, and when you compare it to the internalizing emotions that girls usually express, the therapy room could become a difficult place.[4]
Group therapy for teen boys provides a space where there are none of the social penalties boys often experience elsewhere. It is also a space where anger can be explored constructively, and doesn’t need to be suppressed.
Social skills therapy for teens is another area where gender-specific groups can be particularly effective. Boys and girls often face different social challenges, and working through these in a same-gender group allows for more targeted skill-building.
What a Gender-Specific Group Session Looks Like
It doesn’t matter how experienced you are with therapy. If someone were to say that they were attending a gender-specific group therapy session, you would probably have a good idea of what it looks like. Same-gender people in a room with a therapist.
But if you were asked to describe what happens within those sessions, you may not know without having experienced therapy. For some parents, this unknown can cause worry, because a room full of teenage boys or girls may not seem to be the best environment for treatment.
But there is a lot that goes into making sure every session is structured and provides what your teen needs. Structured group therapy for adolescents follows a predictable format that creates safety through consistency:
- The session might begin with a check-in where each teen shares how they’re feeling that day.
- The therapist may then introduce a discussion prompt, and the group works through it together.
- There might be guided exercises or reflective activities depending on the approach.
- The session may close with a summary of what was covered.
- There may be ‘homework’, which is usually something to think about or practice before the next session.
This structure is very important to a teen who may already feel emotionally unsafe in unpredictable environments. When they know exactly what to expect every week, it can start to make the whole experience feel a little safer.
If the predictability is there and your teen feels safe, it opens the door to the more difficult aspects of therapy, like admitting how they truly feel.
How Do I Know if Group Therapy Is Right for My Teen?
Group therapy isn’t always the right fit for every teen in every situation. However, it is suited to a wide range of difficulties. Clinicians have identified several profiles that respond well to group work, which include:[8]
- Teens who are socially anxious.
- Teens who have experienced rejection from peers.
- Those working through anger.
- Those working through questions about their identity.
- Teens who find verbal self-expression difficult.
Understanding if it’s right for your teen also includes understanding that different therapeutic approaches can be used at once.
For example, if your teen is already in individual therapy, you may assume that they can’t change to group therapy.
Support groups for teen mental health and individual therapy often work best in combination, with each format contributing something the other cannot.
Individual therapy gives you a private space to explore personal issues with a therapist. Group therapy can then be used as a supplement to help build skills and connections that come from being alongside others their own age.
That said, if your teen is currently in crisis or experiencing symptoms that would make group therapy difficult at this stage, individual therapy may be recommended as a starting point.
Your teen’s therapist will be able to give you the best advice on this in particular.
How Mission Prep Approaches Gender-Specific Group Therapy
One of the things that sets Mission Prep Teen Treatment apart is how gender-specific care is built into the foundations of our treatment programs. This ensures that one of the most important aspects of treatment is not just an add-on or an afterthought.
Gender-Specific Housing
Each home in the Mission Prep Teen Treatment network is capped at a maximum of six clients, which we believe helps keep the environment small and personal.
The homes are separated by gender, with dedicated houses for male-identifying teens and female-identifying teens.
We’re committed to providing gender-affirming care, which means teens are supported in an environment that respects their gender identity.
This setup means your teen will live in a gender-specific environment where the therapeutic work and peer relationships reinforce each other.
It also removes any social pressures that can arise in mixed-gender living situations. With these distractions removed, it allows your teen to focus fully on their recovery.
Group Therapy
Your teen will be able to take part in a structured daily schedule that includes several forms of gender-specific group therapy.
Clinical groups cover methods like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), along with stress management, process groups, and nutritional education.
These sessions are designed to help teens understand what’s behind their mental health conditions and work on coping strategies they can use beyond treatment.
Adolescent support groups for mental health at Mission Prep Teen Treatment are integrated into a comprehensive treatment plan. Group therapy sits alongside individual counseling and a three-hour daily academic block, which means your teen’s education continues while they’re in treatment.
