My first real spiritual teacher, Ram Dass, himself a former Harvard professor of psychology, used to explain that while one's true, essential self was eternally pure and whole, our temporal personalities might still need the occasional tune-up, and he referred to therapy as "fender and body work." Implying, I think, that as long as your engine is in good working order, the rest is merely cosmetic. I suspect he might agree now that the relationship of personality to essence is a bit more complex and interdependent than that, but one thing remains certain: when getting fender and body work, it is always wise to get several estimates up front!