And then there's the matter of simple competence, which may or may not overlap with "issues."

Of my multiple attempts at therapy, I would say that I ran into at least 1/3 really poor therapists, including:

1. the guy who, when I couldn't talk, only cried, through the entire first session, gave me a prescription and told me "come back in a month when you're feeling better."

2. the woman who came late, with stains on her clothes, and slept through session.

3. the woman who showed me her appointment book (with other clients' names) to prove that she didn't have an appointment at a time I had thought she did.

4. the marriage counselor, who kept saying "unless there's an alcohol or drug problem, I think each person is equally to blame," just assuming that there was not an alcohol problem, even though there was. (My husband's.) (He presented very well, especially at therapy, and had a successful career, with a senior position at a large company.) (But she would say that each time, and then after each session, he would not come home, but go out and get drunk and come home screaming and cursing at 2 in the morning.) (But I could not tell her because he would just have gotten angrier at me.) (So she never knew any of this, and is probably out there still making things worse for her unfortunate clients.)

And then there were a bunch of mediocre ones, who I did not manage to connect with.

And two good ones.

And so it goes.

All of the therapists that I saw were trained and licensed and so on -- some psychiatrists, some psychologists, some social workers. They were mostly in private practice. I have no idea whether or not they had unresolved emotional issues.

(So, if my experience is in any way typical, I would say that about 1/3 of the therapists out there are seriously incompetent, regardless of any other concerns.)

-Far