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spiritual_emergency said:
Therapists (I'm referring here to the full range from the counselor to the psychiatrist) come in many shapes, sizes and skill levels. Some of them are absolutely horrible and their fellow therapists know as much; others are exceptionally skilled.

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The trouble is that someone who is emotionally damaged and with poor self-confidence, which most people seeking such help will be, has a hard time telling a good one from a bad. And I have found essentially no correlation between good therapists and professional credentials. One such credentialled person was a horrible disaster for me. And I am coming to believe (partly with the aid of some authors I have read) that the vast majority of the mental health establishment is off the track as to what causes the kind of distress I have experienced -- and they don't know it.
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I didn't work professionally with anyone, but I did find meaning in the work of professionals such as Maureen Roberts, Anne Baring, R.D. Laing, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, John Weir Perry, Carl Jung, etc. A therapeutic relationship doesn't have to be one in which you sit opposite each other in a cozy office somewhere, rather, it's a relationship with anyone or anything that helps. My relationships with friends, peers, family members, books, websites, music, tonglen, and Silence were also therapeutic.

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The list of helpers I have found include a few of yours, and others, including "survivors." These have been mostly via books.

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See also: Choosing a Competent Caregiver


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I am going to investigate this.