I still think the best thing is to have friends you can talk things over with - sadly this isn't always possible.
Frankly, I'd agree in
general for most adjustment problems (i.e. ones that aren't medically/neurologically based, rooted in really deep systemic interpersonal pathology, and/or involve some type of major safety issue), with some exceptions. Griping about the same problem over and over can make your friends a bit sick of you, for one thing. Your friends may have a vested interest in giving you some type of advice or steering you to a particular course of action if they're enmeshed in your problems, for another. They may also be afraid to call you on your own bullshit for fear you'll stop liking them. In some situations like that, counseling is prolly a decent option to consider, if only for a few sessions to sort your own thinking out.
The other thing I'd say is if you don't have many or any friends (and you want them), part of a counselor's job would be to help you figure out ways to broaden your social network- such as reducing symptoms of social anxiety, teaching social skills, or helping you process social situations. (Or referring you to a group or some type of case management, but I don't want to digress into shop talk, lol.)