The study you're using to argue for diminishing returns explicitly concludes there is "scarce and inconclusive evidence" for that model when it comes to people with chronic or severe disorders.
Who do you think a "lifelong recipient" of therapy is, if not someone managing exactly those kinds of issues?
Respectfully, that view completely trivialises a clinical profession.
Calling evidence based therapy a "checklist of advice" is like calling software engineering a "checklist for typing". A therapist's job isn't to give advice. Their skill is using clinical training to diagnose the deep cognitive and behavioural issues, then applying a structured framework to help a person work on those issues themselves.
The human connection is the most important clinical tool. The trust it builds is the foundation needed to even start that difficult work.
The problem is not that rooting is difficult, it's that in most cases now it permanently renders parts of the phone inoperable or makes it impossible to use contactless payments or any banking apps or content streaming apps etc.
These additional restrictions are not there for security despite what we are told.
There are many definitions of "sell" that aren't a dichotomy between building toy projects that never leave your private repo, and running a SaaS startup you're trying to grow via LinkedIn and HN.
I've found a lot of fulfillment in building tech products/services for friends and family, and making meeting their needs the complete scope of the project, with no intention to release it publicly. I present it as though it's a widely released product, including marketing materials, retail box, printed instruction manual, etc. I enjoy it thoroughly as a creative exercise, and it gives me the opportunity to integrate and combine lots of skills I'm not able to use at work.
I don't make any money doing this, but it scratches the itch I have to build things people will use, and I do enjoy showcasing and promoting my latest projects - and an audience of my (less technical) friends and family is a polite and encouraging one. Definitely less stressful than releasing things to the wider internet. This has brought improvements to my real job, where I'm finding myself more comfortable presenting and promoting my achievements.
Who do you think a "lifelong recipient" of therapy is, if not someone managing exactly those kinds of issues?