Dear Daniel, Thank you for creating this forum. It’s the best on the web. And many special thanks for calling out psychiatry for what it truly is - nothing but hogwash, filled with toxic thinking and poison pills - truly an abomination of warped ideology, and a sick suppression of vulnerable human spirit. And thank you for your many videos and essays on psychotherapy, as it too can be just as harmful. I never thought I’d come across be a therapist wise enough and brave enough to see and publicly name psychotherapy’s potential downfalls. The other day I came across the term “spiritual abuse”. And while I don’t like to use the word “spiritual” because of its religious connotations, I think the definition could include psychiatric/psychotherapeutic abuse as well. These abusers seek to destroy people’s self confidence and self trust, to discredit their common sense, to talk people out of trusting their own intuition - to trust the therapist/pastor/counselor more than themselves. Your advice is the opposite - you advise people to trust their gut. Thank you for this. Hearing this from you, a licensed professional, has helped me more than anything. You gave me permission to trust myself, and I needed permission. Thank you for this. I’ve yet to figure out how or why anyone in their right mind would ever claim to think they know what anyone else else truly thinks or feels. And they never doubt themselves. How sick is that? I think most therapists are by far the the most arrogant and egocentric people the world over. I have found that Self- therapy based on your books, videos and website to be helpful in many ways large and small. Truly healing indeed. All my life I’ve sensed that upbringing affects people into adulthood, but I never realized how much and profound it can be. Childhood trauma really is where it begins. For the most part I tuned out this thinking because I found most, if not all, psychotherapists’ manner to be smug and conceited. No humanity or humility at all. They never doubt themselves. It just made me feel worse. I think more than anything people need to find a way to trust themselves, to trust their gut, to believe that if they know something themselves, that’s enough. Otherwise there’ll be no peace. And moments of peace, however faint and fleeting, can be the beginnings of, or retclaimation of, some kind of joy. Psychotherapy wasn’t helpful. It just wasn’t. All I felt was more confusion. And I don’t need to figure it out. I gave it enough time and chances. It fosters dependence, and that’s not good. People need trustworthy relationships. It’s called friendship. Even kindness from total strangers can be remarkably healing. Most of all, reading and hearing your good, sound and compassionate thoughts has been transforming. I just wanted you to know how grateful I am. And I write in hope that it miight help someone else. maria