• A person in counseling is weak.
• A counselor tells you what to do.
• You have to be crazy to go to a counselor.
• Counselors just put you on a couch and listen.
• Counselors make you feel bad about yourself.
• Counselors judge you.
• Counselors think they know what's best for you.
  

• It takes a lot of strength to admit you need help and to seek it.
• Counselors work with you to find what the best solution is for you.
• Some people go to counselors just to have someone neutral to talk to before they make a big decision.
• Counselors work to have a warm, trusting, and empathic relationship with you.
• Counselors focus on people's strengths and should not be judgemental.
• Counselors think that you have the correct answers for your life and they help you find them.
  

In 2005 the US Centers for Disease Control reported that antidepressants are the most prescribed drug in America.  Dr. Kelly Posner from Columbia University reports that 50% of people with depression go untreated (Elizabeth Cohen, CNN).

Several studies have shown that counseling does help people.  However, certain people may need a combination of medication and counseling.  Studies have shown that the combination of medication and counseling is more effective than one treatment alone for certain illnesses such as depression (http://counseling resource.com/types/effectiveness.html).

James Barbee, MD from LSU has found that in New Orleans there has been an increase in depression and anxiety since Hurricane Katrina (Is New Orleans Having a Mental Breakdown?  by Russell McCulley.  http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1221982,00.html).