A caring person vs. a professional person... Is it possible for a friend or someone who cares...

To be able to accomplish what a psychiatrist or psychologist "can't"?
Do you think that love, encouragement and a caring person to offer that might do more good than professional help?

Sure!, depending on what ails the "patient".
Some things can not be "fixed" without a professional
understanding of what is wrong.
Someone who cares is never a bad thing and they facilitate
healing, always.
Many people see a clinician simply for someone to talk to.

I think that if I hadn't had such good friends that I would have
never seen a shrink and never would have found out that what
I knew to be "wrong" with me is an actual illness.

Ja'aj, I was thinking that the personal touch has to do something that just a professional help can't. Professionals know how to find problems, talk about them and such, but most times... there is no personal feeling that many people thrive on. Even though I would still accomplish certain things, I do so much better handling things... when I have friends helping me through. (((HUG)))

No argument here! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Friends are the cure-all and the "hang-in-there" for almost
everything, I think. I absolutely agree!
And I forget that Kent Durfee was my shrink [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
for so long that he and his wife became my good friends.
I remember, if I think about it, (eeewww) the shrinks I had before;
some were friends; some... WERE NOT.
That is definitely an area where "picky" is mandatory and
all of 'them' are not a good fit for all of 'us'.
To say nothing of the ones that ought to have their licenses jerked! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Friends have kept me sane(ish) a lot! longer than logic would
have led a rational person to believe.
If it weren't for you - would have been gone a long time before
I took the "breaks" and I would not have come back.
No one can do the job of a friend.
The pay is lousy and the rewards are better than any other job.
The most gifted surgeons (the smart realistic ones, anyway)
rely on the patient's loved ones to pull a patient through.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] HUG!

Oh yeah! Been to hospital wards many a time. Seen how doctors and nurses almost forget there are patients waiting....or patients dying. They're so cool (or cold?) they eat peanuts and chew gums and talk about movies with fellow prefessionals while going on their mechanical duties. Is it all about doses they care about? Why can't they say something enlightening to those patients? Or even just to smile? Is a word of care or a smile causes them a slash of their pay?

I think, there's no substitute for "caring"; not even professionalism. Sometimes, it's the "free things" that are hard to give.

Eink, well said. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Just a quote I ran across yesterday:
"I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge - myth is more potent than history - dreams are more powerful than facts - hope always triumphs over experience - laughter is the cure for grief - love is stronger than death." -- Robert Fulghum

Jack, that fits well. Thank you. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Hi EINK!!! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
You made it here ! YAY! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Bunny! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Yes, yes, yo! I bribed our router to let me connect. Missed you wonderful guys!

Eink, we've missed you too. By the way... good morning! Evening, to you.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Eink,
Do you have a supply of moon pies .. (?)
Is that right?
(Whatever you bribed your router with, anyway...)
because I'm for whatever works so you can be here more often. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]