I think my point was more that if they're doing what it says, that says more about where they’re at mentally (able to take action) and the quality of the advice (they’re willing to follow it).
My stance here is based on an optimistic outlook that a person seeking therapeutic advice is by doing so demonstrating enough awareness that they’re probably capable of recognizing a good idea from a bad one.
I realize this can get into other territory and there are very problematic failure modes in the worst cases.
Regarding “My life is better if I just do what it says.”, I think concern is a fair reaction and I don’t think the author fully thought that through. But at the same time, it’s entirely possible that it’s true (for now).
If someone continues to follow advice that is clearly either bad or not working, then it becomes concerning.
But that was the other point of my anecdote. It became pretty clear to me what wasn’t working, even at a time that I wasn’t really sure how the whole thing worked.
My stance here is based on an optimistic outlook that a person seeking therapeutic advice is by doing so demonstrating enough awareness that they’re probably capable of recognizing a good idea from a bad one.
I realize this can get into other territory and there are very problematic failure modes in the worst cases.
Regarding “My life is better if I just do what it says.”, I think concern is a fair reaction and I don’t think the author fully thought that through. But at the same time, it’s entirely possible that it’s true (for now).
If someone continues to follow advice that is clearly either bad or not working, then it becomes concerning.
But that was the other point of my anecdote. It became pretty clear to me what wasn’t working, even at a time that I wasn’t really sure how the whole thing worked.