Why Would I do Therapy in a Group Setting?
I still remember when I first participated in group therapy. It changed my understanding of personal growth and counseling. As a psychotherapist who specializes in relational therapy, this makes sense.
We heal in ways when we connect with others that can never be achieved on a solitary journey. By sitting and processing with others, we are seen, validated, and connected. Sometimes what we take away is from our own sharing in the group, but oftentimes it’s from the experience of being with or from hearing from others.
All groups via Sarah Claus Therapy are designed to be safe, affirming places. The group size is large enough to allow for a variety of opinion and a rich experience and still small enough for authentic, customized relationships to develop.
Currently, I have two men’s shorter-term groups starting and one all-gendered ongoing process group starting.
Men’s Groups
Men’s Relational Group: Dating and Connection
When it comes to dating, we see guys needing actual useful feedback, not just a bunch of opinions or a new app to try.
This group, led by fellow therapist Jordan Gorrell and myself, is our answer to that.
This group combines practical relationship skills with open conversation in a supportive, real setting. We’ll use ideas from Terry Real’s Relational Life Therapy (RLT), attachment science, and even women’s experiences in today’s dating world to better understand what builds connection, trust, and lasting relationships.
Come ready to learn, reflect, receive respectful feedback, and practice showing up differently—in dating and beyond.
This group will meet every two weeks starting this fall, for a total of six sessions.
Men’s Relational Group: Relationships and Partnership
Long-term relationships take more than good intentions. They take skills. And most people have never been explicitly taught these skills.
Whether you’re navigating the stress of work, communication struggles, conflict, parenting, or simply feeling disconnected, this group offers practical tools and honest conversation to help you become a stronger partner. Led by fellow couples therapist, Jordan Gorrell, and myself.
This group is for men who want to strengthen their relationships through greater self-awareness, healthier communication, and practical relational skills. Using Terry Real’s Relational Life Therapy (RLT), we’ll explore how to move beyond defensiveness, navigate conflict with more confidence, deepen emotional connection, and create relationships where both partners can thrive.
Expect thoughtful discussion, practical tools, and the chance to learn alongside other men who are committed to growing—not because they’re failing, but because their relationships matter.
This group will meet in the evenings every two weeks starting January 2027, for a total of six sessions.
All-Gendered Relational Group for Young Adults
How do you show up relationally in the world?
Most of us have done enough work to name our patterns. We can explain our attachment style at a party. We know which parent we’re reenacting. What’s harder to find is a room where any of that gets tested in real time — where you’re not describing your relationships, you’re in one, with five other people who will come to know you well enough to notice when you’re doing the thing.
This is an ongoing group for people in their twenties and thirties — partnered, single, and everything adjacent, LGBTQ-inclusive — who want somewhere durable to keep working. We’ll talk about family of origin, the parts of us that take over under pressure, and the inherited rules about power and gender and who owes what to whom. Mostly, though, we’ll work with what’s happening in the room, because a group is a set of relationships and the way you show up here tends to rhyme with the way you show up everywhere. Six people, two hours, first and third Sundays, in person. Six-month commitment to start, with the option to keep going — this is built to deepen over years, not wrap up in eight weeks.
Previous Groups
Women Connect Community
Women Connect is a community experience of local women who come together each week for 12 weeks. At each gathering, the community is guided in an insight-based activity and discussion, allowing the group members to deepen in their relationship with themselves and with one another. Topics include body work (think: massage, acupuncture), arts (painting, sand tray), and life wisdom (yoga therapy, relational health).
Connection-Depth Group
This group has been designed by myself and fellow therapist, Becky Natenberg of Zoetic Counseling. It will be a 6-week process-style support group designed for women who want to learn to trust themselves while also learning about the experience of having deepened, honest relationships with other women. Members may expect to feel empowered, supported, and challenged.
Self-Compassion Group
This group is for women interested in exploring self-compassion. This group will run for 6 weeks. Fellow therapist, Laura Henderson, and I must do experiential activities for group members to connect and root themselves in self-compassion, strength, and community. This group references many writers, including the evidence-based writings of Kristin Neff, Ph.D. To learn more about Kristin Neff’s works, read her book, Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself, or visit her website at self-compassion.org.