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Myths of therapy producing self-obsessed people still exist.

Psychological symptoms tend to narrow one's life focus internally.

Treating symptoms can free a person from narrow self-focus and make others more interesting.

Upon first glance, therapy often seems like an exercise in intensive self-inspection, introspection, and even indulgent navel gazing. It is sometimes dismissed as a luxury or life "extra," like a spa day or a massage. A nice-to-have, not a need-to-have, in the general world of wellness and self-care. At worst, it is thought of as a narcissistic enterprise that merely strengthens the ego or self-concept. It might make us smugly secure in ourselves as our therapist symbolically "high-fives" our goals, attributes, and achievements to date.

There is probably some truth in these claims, and clinical training warned against benign therapy: therapy that merely flatters the client’s ego and does not challenge or question certain patient narratives or worldviews. Ironically, this form may be most evident in certain AI bots like ChatGPT and their overly sycophantic design structure.

Clinical Symptoms as Narcissistically Oriented

In most........

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