What profession? That could make all the difference!
In all earnestness, though, - and I'm fairly certain that at this point, I'll just be rehashing something someone's already said (but that's never stopped me before, so why start now?) - it depends wholly on the person and their reasons for seeking said counselling. As someone who has been in and out of therapy most of their life, I can also confidently say, it also has a lot to do with your therapist/psychiatrist, and if the pair of you mesh well.
Then, of course, there are all manner of alternative counselling groups, support groups, &c., that deviate from the traditional one doctor/one patient setup, which could very well be beneficial, again depending.
Okay, that's about as much sincerity as I can handle for the week.