It's quite common in the therapy world, the dogged belief that if you just keep going round in circles one day you'll figure out what's causing the disorder. The therapists aren't kidding themselves, though, they're making money.

The trick is to jump out when you see the same scenery going past for a second time, but it's easier said than done.

If you have a friend who says, "My therapist is great, I've been with him for seventeen years" and another who says "I didn't really need therapy, I only had six sessions" and you choose to see the one who's "great", you're set to see the same scenery many times.

I don't think most therapists are "in it" to make money. I really don't. They really, truly believe that this is the way out, and for a long time, there wasn't much better.

The problem is that there is now. I'm a big fan of CBT/DBT, or at least some sort of "path."

But your last paragraph reminds me of a lot of reviews I hear of treatment centers: "Place X was great! I was there three times!" Honey, treatment ain't camp. If it was so good, once should be enough.

I've been through a few therapists who really, really thought I would get better once I "figured it out." Years passed. Nothing. When I started up with my current therapist, I told her, "Look, if I'm at the same place a year from now, I can't see you anymore." I think therapists need to tell their clients that, freely. It's nothing personal...but progress is progress...