((((radio flyer)))) I'm so sorry that you had such unhelpful experiences with therapy. I did too. My first therapist told me I was just homesick and all I needed was to get married. He decided I was better, and my 10 sessions were up, so he dismissed me. A year later I was suicidal. I did get married, and never learned to take care of myself and live my own life. Seventeen years later, I'm trying to figure out how to start living, something I've never done before despite years of therapy. I think I'm on my 8th therapist now. I lose track. That probably doesn't inspire confidence either, does it?

But I think maybe I didn't say that right. Therapy is more like an art, and it does take skill and intuition, etc. It's the art of helping people to become who they could be.

Diagnoses are part of the medical model, which says that there is something wrong with you that needs to be cured/treated or even eradicated. That's a harsh way of looking at it. Some therapists choose a more positive model or philosophy that says we are all in the process of developing, and sometimes we might need help and guidance and support in order to get through some obstacles that get in our way, but that's just part of the process, and you have what it takes inside of you to find your way. In the latter philosophy the emphasis is on being well (it's called the wellness model), and those therapists try as much as possible to stay away from anything that labels people as sick or defective somehow. They emphasize growth, and dx just doesn't matter so much. In the wellness model therapist still have to be licensed, but there is much less tendency to hold themselves up as experts. The client is the best expert on his or her own development.

I hope that's clearer and more helpful than what I wrote before.

Rap