I was actually directing that question to stoutfiles at the time (I guess I should have quoted the sentence that made me think to ask it), but you got me thinking - we all have different ideas of why someone needs therapy to begin with, and that makes this a difficult topic from the start. Those differing opinions most likely stem from the fact that we've all had very different experiences with therapy - some of us have been through it for years, some maybe went to a session or two with a bad counselor and felt it unnecessary to continue, some have even been the ones doing the counseling. Psychology and therapy have often been touted as a sort of pseudoscience and have gotten a bad rap so this is already tricky ground. Therapy is NOT as clear-cut as, say, someone cutting their finger and needing ointment and a bandage, and then seeing that the ointment helped heal the finger.
As I mentioned a few days ago, depression is not the only reason someone needs therapy. Outward symptoms aren't enough to determine if someone needs it - often, people with problems that could be helped by counseling have learned to hide those symptoms. And often, this is because someone told them they need counseling and they take that as an affront when it's really not. Many people see it as someone telling them, "There's something wrong with you," when really they are only saying, "You don't seem happy with the way you act in this type of situation; I think counseling would get you to understand why you react in that way."
I think several people in this thread are arguing very different things, though, and some people have modified their original arguments to accommodate for that. We've talked about many points, from "Does Dora need therapy" to "Is it appropriate for her friends to suggest therapy". But guess what - that's okay. The point of discussion is to learn about an issue, not to prove your point beyond a shadow of a doubt. We all tend to have this "need" to be right and not admit that we hadn't seen another side of a debate that changes our mind about the topic at hand. It's okay to concede a point occasionally.
But please, everyone, keep in mind that everyone has had different experiences with therapy - good, bad, none at all - and that's obviously going to affect their opinion on whether or not it's a viable option (for Dora, or for anyone). Whether they can dig up examples to support their case is not even the question here.
Personally, I think counseling would be beneficial to Dora. I can also see the point that if she is not ready for it, it may not do any good. She has to be on board either way - if she's going to go, it has to be because SHE wants to work through her problems. If she's not going to go, then she either needs to start working on her problems herself, or accept that she may do this again to another "good guy" (compared to her previous relationships, as far as we know). And if she does it to someone else, she needs to accept the consequences and once again ask herself if it's worth not working through them.
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Topic: Why does Dora need therapy? (Read 66775 times)