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Unlike friends, therapists are trained to listen on many different levels and to hold space for everything that you bring. That skill facilitates healing and growth in you. In addition, your therapist does not have a stake in what you choose to do with your life, as they are an outsider to it.

No, you don't need to, but if you want to you can. The most common reason that people want a therapist who shares some important aspect of their identity - be it race, gender, faith, sexual orientation, or other - is that they want to be understood rather than spend inordinate amounts of time explaining basic aspects of their experience to a therapist who might know nothing about it. They want therapy to be a space that is free of the prejudice they face outside of therapy.

There is no set time. It depends on many factors, such as what you come to therapy for, what you want to get out of it, how much you engage, and whether or not you and your therapist are a good match. But a good therapist will review with you regularly to check if you're getting what you need out of it, whether adjustments need to be made or whether it's time for termination.