I know what therapy is. What comic's forum do you think I'm in?
I was raised Working Class, so I feel that spending money - a lot of money - on something you can solve yourself is wasteful. If someone can't come out of their shell easily, maybe they should just try harder. I tend to be reserved, but I can still have fun in social situations if I relax.
I dunno, man. I grew up working class and having been to therapists at the behest of my parents and the like, I can tell you that if you're having problems, a therapist is the best thing for you. Other commenters have said what I'm about to repeat: if you can't fix it yourself, and it's keeping you from living a full and meaningful life, you need to seek help.
Therapy is one way, and usually the best way, to do it, but you can talk to a firend, trusted relative, etc, but given that a therapist can accurately diagnose if there's more than just emotional issues (chemical imbalances and such) and actively help. At that point, it becomes a medical issue rather than a "grow a pair and deal with it" issue.
As I said down thread a bit, we don't know what all has caused Dora's issues. Hell, it could be a family thing as evidenced by Sven's lothario like ways, nor do we know what happened during the bad relationships that Sven mentioned to Marten. If I could hazard a guess, Dora's sexuality could be a response, a taking back if you will, of her sexuality that was taken from her. That's an extreme case, but it could be something as simple as everyone she's entered into a meaningful relationship with having used, abused, or abandoned her in some way.
Anyway, you shouldn't make snap judgments on the efficacy of therapy: for some people I know, it literally saved their lives.
I'm not saying nobody should get therapy. Jesus, man, look at the first post I made ITT.
I just don't think it's neccessary as often as amny people think it is neccessary. Solving one's own problems is often more efficient than professional therapy/drugs/etc. because one has the knowledge that one can stand up for oneself.
But Dora's issues don't appear to be about "standing up for herself", they're about paranoia in forming meaningful romantic relationships. It's to the point where her paranoia overrides her common sense and keeps her from having a happy relationship. I don't think that's something that she can fix by "standing up for herself", especially if there's something nasty underlying the paranoia.
she can want to stand up for herself all she wants, but unless someone helps her out of this mess, she won't be able to do it. Seriously. that being said, Jeph's not afraid to pull punches with his characters' issues (look at Faye!), so I wouldn't be surprised if there's something dark in Dora's past that makes her act this way.