I don't know what you mean .... amateurs vs. professionals, but my exp. with counseling has ranged from not too helpful to horrendous. Because of this, I've refrained from seeking therapy for the past 6 years, and deal with crises on my own.
I read here frequently how much devotion and faith people put in their therapists, so I am treading on fragile ground to challenge it, but my own exp. has been with flawed human beings, with their own agenda, watching the clock as working stiffls just like the rest of us. I'm cynical, I guess, but just because someone has a plaque on their wall does not give them any more insight than the average man on the street. In the end, I've resorted to a lot of hard, hard work on my own, striving toward the light, which I've finally reached happily on my own.
Seeker