moish01-
“get real there’s no one like that.”
-I’m better at cold logic than at “warm and fuzzy” thinking, so let’s look at this logically:
1) Many, many young adults (like yourself, I remember when I was sixteen, your thought process is not that of a young child) have questions, uncertainties, and guilt from things they have done.
2) There are individuals and groups who know where you are coming from. Believe me, unless you’ve committed murder, they won’t be shocked. Their “ulterior motive” is to help out young people who are having a bumpy takeoff into adulthood.
3) Their effectiveness is based on trust. Those who confide in them need to know that what they tell goes no further. If this trust is violated – even once, even with one person, word-of-mouth will let “the street” know that this person can’t be trusted. His effectiveness will be gone forever.
4) Given the above factors, don’t you think it pays for such a person to keep your secrets? Don’t you think if he had betrayed a confidence you’d hear about it?
I agree that a total stranger who you don’t know personally may well be a better choice – in the secular world most people want doctors (both physical and mental health) to be someone they don’t know, to avoid social embarrassment.