[The First Aria]

To quote something I'm sure I heard somewhere before from someone wiser than me:

"A therapist can't tell you anything you don't already know"

Doesn't make them useless though. They're basically a friend you pay to talk to you who is guaranteed to keep things confidential.
Talking to friends is really therapeutic.

Referral letters are nice too.

Yes Thesurus, I think you pretty close to 100%.  At this point, my therapist is at a level I wish my wife was at in that regards.