I’ll be upfront here. There’s two types of group therapy in my book. One is the kind doctors suggest as a way to “get help.” The other is the kind where people get together, share their woes, have a glass of wine (or two), laugh and generally leave feeling better for the time spent.

My stance on type 1…hey, if it works for you. It’s not for me, but I won’t tell you it’s not for anyone at all. But when I’ve made it clear that it’s not for me, you need to back off. Period.

On the other hand, I’m a huge fan of the second variety. My favorite lines from an old movie:

Sue Charlton: People go to a psychiatrist to talk about their problems. She just needed to unload them. You know, bring them out in the open.

Michael J. “Crocodile” Dundee: Hasn’t she got any mates?

Sue Charlton: You’re right. I guess we could all use more mates. I suppose you don’t have any shrinks at Walkabout Creek.

Michael J. “Crocodile” Dundee: No back there if you got a problem you tell Wally. And he tells everyone in town, brings it out in the open, no more problem.

And that pretty much sums it up.