Everyone I know seems to be diagnosed (or self diagnosed) with some kind of mental disorder. It's one of the defining traits of the zoomer generation. I know it's considered a kind of blasphemy, but I really think therapy is hurting our culture.
Therapy trains people to only think about themselves. If someone isn't completely perfect, we're told to cut them out of our lives. If your dad gets upset because you're not doing chores, he's abusive. If she doesn't text back after 2 minutes, she's avoidant. It just adds a really sick and toxic layer to every single social interaction.
People aren't perfect. I know I've done things that upset people in the past and people around me have made mistakes. It's called being human. Not every mistake or miscalculation is a product of evil manipulation or mental illness. Therapy seems to make the self the center of the world and reduces every relationship to something transactional. "My way or the highway."
I think that's part of the reason why our generation is so lonely. It's hard to really bond with people when you're constantly afraid of being a victim. You really need to be forgiving and be willing to see the best in people if you wanna make it in this world.
Yes.
Based on observation, and a few unguarded comments by my sister, (pediatrician), therapists mostly come from the soft 'sciences' - psychology/sociology/social work. The soft 'science' pipeline is mostly populated by women. The educational component isn't that demanding, so its graduate breakdown isn't surprising. There are a few men, here and there, rather uncommon though.
The difference between men and women therapists appears to be men listen, encourage you to question everything, and help find a more productive path. Women listen, tell you your wrong, and you must change 'in the following manner'. It's not about you. It's not about what's going on. She projects her 'feelz' onto your vulnerability, because she's right.
Just ask her.
You don't need therapy. You need to get out of the city, breathe some fresh air, and find like-minded men for hiking, carpentry, bbq's, and gaming nights.