It's easy to underestimate just how deep the "humans are social creatures" thing goes. Your mind has capabilities that more or less only work in the context of

It's easy to underestimate just how deep the "humans are social creatures" thing goes. Your mind has capabilities that more or less only work in the context of an interaction. Communication orders your thoughts in a way that rumination doesn't. Cues from others calibrate your level of certainty. The better question is why do you need a such an expensive, highly trained listener? It seems to me that some people (particularly women) get what amounts to therapy from very close and secure friendships. Universities also sometimes have programs to facilitate a similar kind of communication with lightly trained volunteers from your peer group. You may still get a decent proportion of the benefit from something like this. But it stands to reason that a pro is better at it.