I have retained the services of....

Social Worker, LSW for therapy.

None (not that I couldn't use any)

None of the above...

I went through a very brief period when I thought I might be in need of a 12-step program. I went to one meeting, took a good look at the people who were there, and knew right away that I was in the wrong place. I never went back. That one exposure to some of the scariest people I've ever seen was enough to snap me out of my destructive pattern, and it hasn't resurfaced since. I have all the sympathy in the world for 12-steppers' struggle, and I certainly don't mean any offense to any 12-steppers here, but man that experience creeped me out BIG TIME.

I do a lot of self-help kinds of reading, mostly "patience" and "relaxing" kinds of things. Not that I feel tense or impatient, but I just enjoy reading about ways to further relax. My mom brought us to a psychologist when we were young, but it was only to "prove" that my younger sister was the cause of all family trouble (which of course she wasn't).

None of the above.

A big bag of Red M&Ms!

How can you retain the services of a self-help book? :) *** glen: Indigo girls. Great song. Great album, too.

Does going to church count as retaining the services of a religious counselor?

Robert Anton Wilson's Prometheus Rising - not exactly a self-help book, but it both resonated with me and shaped me.

I did therapy for a year which was very helpful then fizzled when I didn't have more to try to delve into. A nutritionist for two years taught me a lot too. I've read a number of books that could be construed as self-help but I think are more about how we think than anything else.

bill - one of the same books as I had in mind too.

Oh, well, many books helped me, but aren't really self-help oriented books.

none of the above? I have gone to the school psy-whatevershewas in hopes of increasing the likelyhood of my petition to stay in school being approved(total two occasions). my own self analysis was much better than what this person had to say. I delude myself into thinking that I understand me better than anyone else possibly could, and generally work things out to my own satisfaction in my own mind sometimes using friends as a sounding board. **Jer: you seem to have this unhealthy fascination with Red M's. bleagh... you can have mine..

the services of my nutritionist have helped to completely and entirly change every aspect of my life for the better. Beside losing weight, I have learned so much about food and mood and what my body needs when, and how I read and interpret the related signals. I cannot even relate anymore to the way that I used to feel and think about food and nutrition. It's not just that I eat more healthful foods- I'll still eat the occasional piece of utter junk- it's just that 'I' am this very complicated electro-chemical-spiritual machine, and now 'I' understand and am whole with the chemical aspects of 'I,' more than ever before. My weirdo-wholistic chiropractor has begun to teach me a bit about some of the other two components I listed.

none of the above.

I count the many people I know who are extra-super-good at computer stuff as gurus. A bunch of y'all qualify. :)

The Psychologist worked! The marriage counselor...well....i guess you really have to want the help. The hypnotic effect lasted about as long as the effects of the motivational speech. Go figure!

None of the above and I'm proud of it :)

"There's more than one answer to these questions, pointing me in a crooked line..."

*** Bill + Romkey : And what a book it is/was. But it wouldn't have been half as potent without the community in which we shared + discussed it...

mostly grief counseling ... too many people gone, too soon together ... overwhelming emotion ...

...my pineal glad?
...your god[s]/diety[-ies?
...someone else's god[s]/diety[-ies]?
Oracles/omens/signs?
52-card tarot pickup?

Do 3 sessions count? I get by with a little help from my friends.

I read this as "I have availed myself of the services of ...", as "retained" has meaning which does not apply, in my case... Also, I interpreted "marriage counselor" broadly, as I have never been married, but have been to a "couples counselor"

Years and years of a psychologist. And wow, was it helpful.

i went to a psychiatrist once when i was twelve but only because my parents made me.. does that count?