A person seeking help from a therapist wants change.  
They may not think they need to change.  They may
feel it is someone else or situation that needs
changing.  But whatever they see as their source of
discontent, they want to feel, act or manage better
that they are.  

A therapist agrees to help them achieve this goal.  
The therapy relationship is an alliance between a
therapist and a client that is exclusively for the
client's benefit.  Psychotherapy is most powerful with  
  it helps you to move from being a passive sufferer to  
an active agent on your own behalf, taking greater
charge over what happens  inside you or between you
and others.  

While the immediate aim of counseling is to relieve
discomfort and distress, most therapies have a longer
range goal: to modify or change patterns of thinking,
feeling and acting that are producing the stress while
leaning new, more effective and satisfying ways of
living.  
When To Consider
Therapy