It is really very important for people not to try to use sites like PC as therapy. As I've been told we are first and foremost a support site not a therapy site. And this is very true. It is support and not therapy that is offered here.

People need to have one on one therapy even if it is a phone appointment (ideal for someone who has agoraphobia), trying to replace it with free online treatment is going to cause more damage than doing nothing at all.

I've noticed new members who make obvious pleas for therapy and there are some people who answer these pleas and I often see the "I've Pm'd you" post. Simply having a good ear is not good enough. One needs to know to mind processes of the type they are "listening & talking to" which requires a diagnosis, something else which is not done at PC.

Online forums are great for the support they can offer, but the best philosophical minds in the world are not psychiatric or psychologically trained. And when it comes down to it, that is what counts in order to follow the thought patterns of someone with mental illness, whatever mental illness it may be and there are so many now that it is no longer a simple process of saying "Jane has X and it HAS to be treated THIS way.