Mental health therapy carries significant social stigma and is not affordable to many people who need or want it. Having regular conversations with an astrologer is a cheaper, more accessible, and more socially acceptable alternative, even if it isn't as effective (or at all effective). The same principle applies to most forms of "alternative medicine"; people cope with what they have.
I agree in general.
I think that if for some reason you do not want to see a therapist some kind of "alternative" (like Family Constellations or Jodorowsky's Tarots/Psychomagic may offer some solace.
The main problem is that (in my limited experience) they also conveniently offer solace but not much impulse to actually try to change things.
I don’t know if this is true, but I wonder if these alternatives offer very top down perspectives on an individual’s life and circumstances, rather than one of personal responsibility and agency. One is kind it like “here’s how things are, and here are the deterministic, universal reasons as to why that is”, while the other might be more like “here’s how things are, and here are the ways you could choose to reason about it and navigate to a better place from here”.
I actually don’t know; I’m totally speculating, but curious. I used to know someone who went for tarot readings as a means of coping with losing her husband and I find it very sad yet fascinating. She didn’t seem to get much from it in a constructive sense, but she did get someone focused on her and her experience for an hour or so. That means a lot, too.
