Group therapy is a modality rather than a separate profession. Group therapists are licensed clinicians who have trained specifically in facilitating therapeutic groups, and many pursue the Certified Group Psychotherapist credential. This guide covers how to qualify, how group facilitation differs from individual work, and where the roles are.
What Does a Group Therapist Do?
Group therapists design and lead therapeutic groups in which members work on shared difficulties together. The clinician manages the group process itself, using the interactions between members as the primary therapeutic mechanism rather than working with each person in turn. Group work is an efficient and often more effective treatment for issues rooted in isolation, shame, or interpersonal patterns.
Key Responsibilities
- Screen and select members for group suitability
- Establish and maintain group norms and confidentiality agreements
- Facilitate group process and manage interpersonal dynamics
- Intervene when conflict, dominance, or withdrawal disrupt the group
- Run structured psychoeducational or skills groups such as DBT
- Document individual progress within the group context
- Coordinate with members’ individual therapists and psychiatrists
A Day in the Life
A group therapist in an agency or intensive outpatient program may run two to four groups a day, each typically sixty to ninety minutes, with documentation for every member after each session. Preparation involves reviewing member progress and planning content for structured groups. Private practitioners typically mix a smaller number of groups with individual clients, often scheduling groups in the evening.
How to Become a Group Therapist: Step by Step
You must qualify as a licensed mental health clinician first, then develop group-specific training. No state licenses group therapy separately.
- Earn a bachelor degree. Psychology, social work, or a related field.
- Complete a masters or doctorate. In counseling, clinical social work, marriage and family therapy, or psychology. This determines your underlying license.
- Get licensed. Complete your state’s supervised postgraduate hours and pass the relevant examination, such as the NCE, NCMHCE, or ASWB exam.
- Train in group psychotherapy. Seek supervised co-facilitation experience, group process training, and coursework in group dynamics. Co-leading with an experienced facilitator is the standard way to learn.
- Pursue the CGP credential. The International Board for Certification of Group Psychotherapists offers the Certified Group Psychotherapist designation, requiring documented group hours, training, and supervision.
How Long Does It Take to Become a Group Therapist?
About eight to nine years after high school to reach licensure, plus one to two years of supervised group facilitation experience to develop genuine competence and meet CGP requirements.
Group Therapist Education and Licensing Requirements
A masters degree in a clinical mental health field is the minimum, or a doctorate for psychologists. Group-specific training comes through continuing education, supervised co-facilitation, and professional bodies such as the American Group Psychotherapy Association rather than through degree programs, most of which cover group work only briefly.
There is no group therapist license. You practice under your existing clinical license: LPC, LCSW, LMFT, or psychologist. The Certified Group Psychotherapist credential is a voluntary national certification requiring documented group experience, training, and supervision, and it is the recognized marker of specialist competence in this modality.
What the Training Costs, and What It Returns
Beyond the graduate degree, group training is relatively inexpensive compared with modality certifications such as EMDR. Costs are mainly continuing education workshops, AGPA membership and conference attendance, and consultation. Many agencies provide co-facilitation opportunities as part of the job, which means much of the training can be acquired while employed.
Group Therapist Salary and Job Outlook
BLS reports a median annual wage of $59,350 for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors as of May 2025, the group most group therapists belong to. Group work has a distinctive economic advantage in private practice: running a group of eight members at a reduced per-person rate typically generates more revenue per hour than an individual session, which is why group-competent clinicians often earn above the median.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Median annual pay (Substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors) | $59,350 |
| Median pay, all U.S. occupations | $50,980 |
| Typical entry-level education | Master’s degree |
| Jobs in the U.S. (2025) | 533,400 |
| Projected growth, 2025–35 | 18% (all occupations: 3%) |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook — Substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors (May 2025 wages; 2025–35 projections). Pay varies by state, setting, and experience.
Job Outlook
Employment in this counselor group is projected to grow 18 percent from 2025 to 2035, much faster than the 3 percent average. Group modalities specifically are expanding because they address the clinician shortage directly: a single therapist can serve eight or more clients in one hour, and intensive outpatient programs built largely on group work have grown substantially.
Skills Employers Look For
- Managing group process rather than individual content
- Comfort with conflict and silence in the room
- Balancing airtime between dominant and withdrawn members
- Careful member screening and group composition
- Knowledge of structured curricula such as DBT skills
- Awareness of confidentiality limits in a group setting
What Hiring Managers Actually Screen For
Employers screen for genuine group facilitation experience, not just willingness, because poorly run groups lose members quickly and intensive outpatient programs depend on attendance. Interviewers ask how candidates would handle a dominating member or a group that has gone silent. Training in structured curricula, particularly DBT skills groups, is highly marketable since those programs are widespread and require certified facilitators.
Where Group Therapists Work
- Intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization programs
- Substance use treatment facilities
- Community mental health centers
- Private practice, solo or group
- Hospitals and inpatient psychiatric units
- College counseling centers and employee assistance programs
Career Path and Advancement
Group therapists commonly progress to lead facilitator, then to clinical supervisor or program director of an intensive outpatient or partial hospitalization program, where group work is the core service. Others build private practices anchored on groups, become AGPA-affiliated trainers or consultants, or specialize in particular populations such as trauma, addiction, or men’s and women’s process groups.
Is This Career Right for You?
Group work suits clinicians who are comfortable being less in control than they are in individual therapy, since the group itself does much of the therapeutic work. It requires tolerance for conflict and silence, and a willingness to trust the process. For clinicians in private practice it is one of the few ways to increase income without increasing hours, and many find it the most rewarding work they do.
Group Therapist FAQs
Is there a group therapist license?
No. You practice under a standard clinical license such as LPC, LCSW, LMFT, or psychologist. The Certified Group Psychotherapist credential is a voluntary specialty certification.
How long does it take to become a group therapist?
About eight to nine years to reach licensure, plus one to two years of supervised group facilitation experience to develop competence.
What is the CGP credential?
Certified Group Psychotherapist, awarded by the International Board for Certification of Group Psychotherapists, requiring documented group hours, training, and supervision.
Does group therapy pay well?
It can pay better per hour than individual therapy in private practice, since eight members at a reduced rate generates more revenue per hour than one individual session.
How is group therapy training acquired?
Mainly through supervised co-facilitation with an experienced leader, continuing education, and organizations such as the American Group Psychotherapy Association. Graduate programs usually cover it only briefly.
What is the hardest part of running a group?
Managing dynamics: a member who dominates, one who withdraws, or open conflict between members. The skill is working with those patterns therapeutically rather than suppressing them.
Find Group Therapist Jobs
Pulivarthi Group places group therapists with employers across the United States. Browse current openings on our healthcare talent page, or explore more career paths in our career guide library.
Related guides: Licensed Professional Counselor · Marriage & Family Therapist · Trauma Therapist
Hiring Group Therapists?
If you are an employer hiring group therapists, Pulivarthi Group supplies pre-vetted, credentialed candidates nationwide. See our mental health staffing services or request a staffing quote.
