If people say therapy helped them, sure I believe it. My sense though is that most of the help was not because of therapy, but in spite of it. I think therapy, as it is set up, is quite perverse and abnormal and dangerous, and yet could help in some cases where the two people involved manage to escape the system's million pitfalls and its unfounded theories and methods. Maybe what helped was just having someone supportive and understanding to talk to. That to me is not an argument in favor of therapy as an institution. It suggests, in my admittedly insignificant opinion, that therapy is mainly a better-than-nothing proposition. Not a judgement, as I have been in that place of need, and still am.

The other thing I wonder about is how much of therapy's benefit is palliative. Does the benefit go away or lessen when you withdraw the treatment?