Who is therapy for? I suppose there are as many reasons to go to therapy as there are people in therapy. For me, therapy attempts to keep me stable enough to have a professional job and a family. I've been in weekly therapy since a few years after college until now (24 years) and I don't see any end in sight. I've changed therapists over time due to one retiring, one moving away, one abandoning me and one sticking with me now. I also feel self-conscious about it. Perhaps only one friend knows I'm in t.

I also get really defensive at the idea that people who are in long term therapy are "paying for a friend" or not trying hard enough. A while back there was a thread with a similar question, and I took comfort in knowing there were others like me who are in long term therapy.