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An_Old_Big_Tree wrote

I know some people who have received a great deal of help from clinical psychology

How is what you're calling clinical psychology here different from just having someone smart and empathetic listen to you and engage you on your own terms?

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Blackbeard wrote

I suppose the difference is paying for the experience of having somebody sworn to secrecy, who helps people with those types of issues for a living, and has spend significant time studying psychology. Some people don't have somebody in their lives that will be that empathetic, smart person. Or, they have some issue that they're not comfortable sharing with somebody they know, and feel more comfortable with leaving the person after an hour and not seeing them until their next session.

Personally, I have always tried to find somebody in my life to share my experiences and feelings with, however weird or disturbing they might be, but I understand not everybody is comfortable doing that with their friends.

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