[meepmorp]

They can help. It depends on finding someone worthwhile talking to, and being in a frame of mind where it'll help.

As for this:

> Surely an intelligent person can see what their questions are getting at and influence the therapist's inferences accordingly, in the same way as you can when taking those silly multiple choice psychological assessments?

If you're seriously seeking help, why would you bother doing this? You're going to a therapist because you've got problems you think might be helped by talking them through with someone. If you're just interested in proving how clever you are or showing the superiority of "training in rigorous disciplines", there's cheaper ways to do it that don't waste other people's time.