@lutusp, I'm sorry for whatever experiences have led you to such a negative opinion of therapy; I'm sure you have very valid reasons to feel that way. You're r

@lutusp, I'm sorry for whatever experiences have led you to such a negative opinion of therapy; I'm sure you have very valid reasons to feel that way. You're right, therapy is not a science, but it is doing its best to learn as much as possible about the human condition and to apply what it has learned to improve human lives. In its defense, it's barely over 100 years old. Where was physics 100 years after its origins? Chemistry? Medicine? When therapy started, all Freud and Jung had to work with was observation of a person's visible and verbal behavior...and dreams. They did what they could with the tools that were available. Since then, we have roughly a century of observation, as well as research that has attempted to be as scientifically rigorous as it could be. And in the past 20 years or so, we've finally gained the first handful of technologies that have given us some basic data about what the brain is actually doing. We're still just beginning. Here's what we're up against. The human brain is the most complex system in the universe, a crazy quilt of impulses that has accumulated from the blind forces of million years of evolution. Can you imagine how difficult it is to design an experiment that controls for unwanted factors? Now, add in the restrictions dictated by ethical concerns and the unimaginable range of human behavior. Is it any wonder that progress is so slow? So, given how little we know, by what right do we presume to practice? You could ask the same of a physician from 200, or even 2,000, years ago. The answer would be the same: "Because people are suffering, and we have things we can do that have a good track record of reducing that suffering." As a therapist, I am doing more than providing "benefit from ordinary conversation." See my reply to @nostrademons for details. It is well established, through numerous studies across the last 70 years, that measurable benefits are to be had from talking to a therapist who is non-judgemental, who communicates back to you an emotional understanding of your experience, and who is there to provide--as much as is humanly possible--unconditional support for you in your situation. Changing human behavior is very, very difficult. But it can be done, and therapists of all sorts--psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, and other licensed counselors--have valuable skills to offer. Thank you for listening.