what's the point of a therapist? to have someone to be obsessed with, of course! j/k.... there isn't much i can add to what has already been said before me. i mean, the opportunity to work on interpersonal relationships is the biggest thing... to be able to 'practice' on your therapist... it is the most unique relationship that you will ever experience. i mean, c'mon..... i can curse out my T and then he congratulations me for getting angry at him. Why is this helpful? because I can recognize my relational patterns, dysfunctions, etc. and eventually correct them. bring the unconcious into conciousness. you stated that thearpists can't know anymore than you can learn about yourself-- i now have to climb up on my soapbox and give my speech-- (i'm not angry, but this was the only appropriate guy to use, lol)... i am currently in graduate school for clinical psychology, training to be a therapist. So sometimes I find it very beneficial to speak from both sides-- as the therapist and the client-- and even after a couple years of training to be a therapist.... i still haven't learned as much as i have going to therapy myself. but through school and my own therapy, i have learned what it is like to help people see the underlying meanings... to pull out what is there, but not yet able to be seen... and damn, i hope there is a point to having a therapist, or else i'm not gonna make a whole lot of money, hahaha.