I am not denouncing the value of professionals--if by "professionals," you mean MHPs (Mental Health Professionals)--but the people on this board are from many different fields in real life, and there have been MHP posters before, and likely even a few now. Also, keep in mind that the fiascoes of "repressed memory syndrome," the "Satanic ritual abuse" nonsense, etc., et al., were once heavily promulgated by MHPs. The DSM is formulated by MHPs, and that tome is notorious for having diagnoses that are heavily influenced by politics, moralism, the dominant religious beliefs of the time, and the law over that of science, and it's recently come under fire by other MHPs for this very reason. As such, MHPs in general can be a very mixed bag for MAAs at this point in time, but there are those in orgs like B4U-ACT who are working to change that situation, and gradually succeeding.

A lot of the people here are not MHPs per se, but many of us work in other fields in the social sciences, and have many years of experience in discussing these issues with other MAAs, because even though we are no replacement for MHPs in certain instances, they in turn are often no replacement for those of us who have actually walked the walk ourselves for many years or even many decades. This is what has made forums like Lifeline, which has nary an MHP on its staff, highly effective in keeping many troubled and conflicted MAAs from suicide in its decade of existence. So I would say support forums like this where MAAs can actually talk to kindred spirits are quite effective, even though I personally would like to see involvement and participation by genuinely compassionate MHPs who are knowledgeable in this field, and who have not limited their treatment of MAAs exclusively to forensic or clinical samples.