Does Therapy Work if You Have a Higher IQ Than Your Therapist?

One smart guy took to Twitter to declare his hot take on therapy and intelligence.

"Reminder: "therapy" does not work if you have a higher IQ than the "therapist"."

--@uncledoomer

Fellow Twitter users shared their negative or useless experiences with therapists. 

“Married 12 yrs. At one point ~5 years ago we agreed to try therapy for standard issue disagreements. Initial session was so absurd, we left laughing together at how idiotic she was & never returned. Still happily married; occasionally chuckle about it. great bonding experience TBH.”

--@_emcal

“I tried therapy a few times, and every time, it just turned into me entertaining the therapist with my stories. Why am I paying for this?”

--@BecomingCritter

“I tried therapy. The therapist told me I needed to get on medication to not be [sad] and I told her that no, feeling those emotions is useful because it tells you something is wrong and to do something about it. Looked at me like I was insane. Last time I went to therapy.”

--@psyoppsa

“Therapy doesn’t work if you’re naturally honest with yourself and introspective— it’s nice to have someone listen to you, but don’t expect any insight you can’t manage yourself."

--@KILLTOPARTY

“Therapy was created for people with the worst problems you've ever heard of but it's used primarily by upper-middle class people from good families who don't have any real problems but who like for the focus to be on them.”

--@VoiceofIgnatius

One person who used to think they were too smart for therapy was proven wrong

“I went in therapy one time thinking this & somehow she asked enough right questions for me to cry still.”

--@doitbilly

Others argued that having a high IQ is not the same thing as having a high EQ.

“I’d argue that sometimes it works better if the therapist has a lower IQ because you’re paying them to have a higher EQ and help you figure out why all of your relationships unravel while you work due to how you watched your parents act and you suppress it. So you need someone who’s less intelligent the way you are because high IQ individuals can’t see the emotional sides of their lives.”

--@holly_treats

“A high IQ person is capable of listening to and assimilating the perspective of the therapist to achieve better outcomes for their own life. Only arrogant people, probably caught in the trough of the DK effect, would think they’re too smart to benefit from a specialist interpreting issues they might have.”

--@SprawlOnoSendAi

“I think it can if the therapist has a lot of experience and wisdom. There’s plenty of neurotic high IQ people stuck in their heads. They might not need someone smarter to logic their way out, they need someone wiser to show them how to get out of their heads.”

--@SekEk22

Which side do you agree with? Do you think that therapy is helpful for smart people, or not worth their time? Have you ever had a bad experience with a therapist that made you question the legitimacy of their profession? Has a therapist helped you see a problem in a different light?