Individual therapy is a one-to-one relationship with a therapist. It’s private, focused, and paced entirely around you. Individual therapy helps you understand yourself.
Individual therapy provides privacy and focus: Everything centers on your story, your history, your goals. You and the therapist control the depth and pacing: You can slow down, zoom in, and work intensively on personal material. It provides safety for very tender material: Especially helpful early on or during crisis.
Sessions typically focus on:
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Emotional difficulties such as anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, shame, anger, or loneliness
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Relationship challenges and recurring interpersonal patterns
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Life transitions, identity questions, and decision-making
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Understanding how past experiences influence present feelings and behavior
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Developing healthier coping strategies, boundaries, and ways of relating
Individual Therapy
Group Therapy
Group therapy brings together several people with a therapist, meeting regularly to work on shared or overlapping concerns.
Change happens in real time, with real people
In group therapy, the patterns you struggle with in life—avoidance, people-pleasing, anger, withdrawal, feeling invisible—show up in the room.
You don’t just talk about relationships; you experience and work with them live. That “in-the-moment” learning is hard to reproduce one-on-one.
You learn how you impact others—and how they impact you Group members gently reflect how they experience you:
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“When you went quiet, I felt pushed away.”
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“I felt closer to you when you said that.”
This kind of honest, human feedback is rare in everyday life and transformative when held safely.
You discover you’re not alone (and not uniquely flawed) Hearing others articulate thoughts you’ve never dared to say out loud can be profoundly relieving.
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Shame softens.
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Self-blame loosens.
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Compassion—for yourself and others—grows.
This isn’t reassurance from a therapist; it’s recognition from peers.
You practice new ways of relating—with support
Group therapy is a laboratory:
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Setting boundaries
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Expressing anger or vulnerability
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Asking for help
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Tolerating closeness or difference
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You get to try, stumble, repair, and try again—with guidance and support.
The group becomes a powerful source of support and motivation Over time, members matter to one another. People notice your growth. They miss you when you’re absent. They challenge you when you retreat. That sense of belonging—and accountability—can accelerate change in ways individual therapy often can’t.
Individual therapy helps you understand yourself.
Group therapy helps you experience yourself in relationship—and change there.
Individual and Group Therapy Combined
The combination of group and Individual therapy is especially powerful: insights from individual therapy come alive in the group, and group experiences deepen individual work.
Education and Experience:
Jerry Sachs, L.C.S.W. - Group and Individual Psychotherapist
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Group Therapist, 92nd Street Y, New York City
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Group Therapist , Washington Square Institute for Mental Health. New York City, NY
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Advanced Group Therapy 2 Year Training Program –Washington School of Psychiatry
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Group Psychotherapist, Family Life Center, Columbia, MD
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Group Psychotherapist, Regional Center for Infants and Young Children, Rockville, MD
Bachelors of Arts - Columbia University
Masters of Social Work - New York University
Professional Affiliations:
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American Group Therapy Association.
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Board Member-Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society - EGPS
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Brooklyn Discussion Group of EGPS
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Mid Atlantic Group Therapy Society