From my experience and reading, most psychology, and especially psychiatry, is at best useless and at worst extremely harmful. There may indeed by therapists here or there who are helpful. Or new methods or theories that are decent; my interaction/reading was from years ago.
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Years ago, when I was in college Psychology class, the teacher stated that often, simply having a good friend or so to talk to was often as good as, if not more so than any other treatment.
Tall order there. Sometimes it's just easier to pay someone to listen. ;)
No. You cannot talk to your best friend about the things you talk to your psychologist about. It’s completely different. Your friend, mostly, won’t point out the truth about yourself.
Interestingly, psycho therapy has come along way, mostly since they began to adopt Buddhist philosophies and practices. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a clinical adaptation of mindfulness practice.