being in the world. There must be a level of comfort, including the comfort that comes from being understood, but it there is no strain, there is probably no gain. For example, I have seen plenty of people with OCD who have been comfortable seeing counselors but they have received "talk therapy" or "relaxation therapy" and have had to continue suffering for months or years when what they really needed was exposure therapy. Exposure therapy makes the person somewhat more anxious in the beginning but the patient who can tolerate the titrated anxiety gets better, often quickly. So my point is an obvious one: comfort is not enough. As a therapist in private practice since 1990, I would add a word of caution regarding the assumption that counselors who have jumped the licensure and supervision hoops may thereby be better at helping clients achieve emotional balance. These hoops are designed to identify and treat psychopathologies of serious mental illness. They are nearly oblivious to the dissatisfactions of normal clients dealing with the everyday stresses of life, and generally are not useful to therapists in helping clients find deeper meaning, satisfaction, personal growth, and wholeness. In my opinion, more important than licensure are the factors of: ~graduate and post graduate training ~continued education including a consultive relationship with peers ~successful experience working with others with the same issue ~whether the therapist has done their own therapy, and continues to address their own personal issues with a therapist of their own. Most