YES, I think therapy really helps. It does, however, take a genuine readiness and willingness to do the work required both during sessions and in the time between sessions. At least for me, most of the work has been done in my RL, after I leave her office each week. I began therapy 3 years ago, when I ended my 6 year relationship with my partner. I had just moved to a new state, began a new job, and was (unexpectedly) leaving the only person I knew in my new city. I knew that I needed support in order to stay firm and end an unhealthy relationship and begin a new life. I also knew that the reason I'd held onto a relationship that wasn't working was because of my abandonment issues from not having a mom and abuse/neglect history growing up. So, during my time in therapy, I processed all of those experiences with T, and I've healed so many of those old wounds. I don't think they can ever disappear completely, though. I think they're like physical scars in that they will always be a part of you but it is possible for them to stop hurting. So, through therapy I have largely healed the "maternal void" that I had been carrying since childhood. It doesn't hurt anymore. Very recently, I processed all of the unhealthy ways I used to try to "fill" that void as a teenager and college student. I used to attach to older women in a way that somewhere in between maternal and sexual; I would attach to them emotionally because I wanted unconditional love and nurturing, but the only way I knew how to get that was through being seductive/sexual. I am a lesbian, but these were not healthy or equal relationships; these women were twice my age, in positions of authority over me, and not treating me with love or respect. I stopped these kinds of relationships at least 5 years ago, but I still hadn't fully processed or recovered from them-- that's what I needed my T for. Part of the healing process was also having a secure attachment to my T-- who is an older woman-- and developing a healthy relationship with her that is a stark contrast to the kinds of unhealthy relationships I used to have with older women. Figuring out what was unhealthy in my early relationships has also been incredibly helpful in maintaining healthy relationships (platonic and romantic) now. When I see myself entering into an unhealthy relationship, I know how to stop it before I get out of the gate. Recently, I did a lot of "housekeeping" so to speak on my current friendships. I've become ten times closer to my best friend and my other close friends by being so open and honest and connected with them, while I've ended or distanced myself from those couple of friends who were overly needy or unable to be a good friend to me. It's made me feel much more secure, independent, and alive. Therapy has been incredibly helpful for me in becoming stronger and more willing to express myself, without triggering those old fears of abandonment. I'm still "me" (and I always liked "me") but I've changed a lot over the past 3 years, and I'm grateful for that change. I think it's due both to my T and to my own hard work.