Prob a mixture of both. But basically if I were to sum up my therapy experience, it was pretty much a guided mental workshop in the sense that I wasn't told really to what to think...
I was guided to thinking about my situation and perspective in a different light that was more conducive to who I wanted to become....
I was coaxed thru my own mental processes at my own pace, to come to realize that my thought patterns could be oriented to a more healthy way that improved my life, period.
Would it have been as effective coming from someone I know? Probably. Simply because I'm introspective in general and wouldve dissected it by myself.
But I didn't have that, hence the therapy fulfilled the need.