Why do Psychiatrists and Psychologists only ask questions?

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There are lots of different kinds of therapy and it's going to depend on the therapists school of thought about what he thinks is best as to the one he uses. What you are talking about is them getting you to talk and asking you leading questions hoping that you will arrive at the answer yourself, rather than them telling it to you. They lead you in the direction of realizing what the basic issue is or why you do or think this, or how you repeatedly think or act. I don't much care for this type of therapy. If I wanted to sit down and just think and think about my problems, I could probably come up with some answers myself, but rather than do that for months and years I would choose to go to a doctor who would listen to me and give me advice and explain my issues and problems to me and give me suggestions as to what I could do to fix them and then help me follow through on that.

Next time you look for a therapist, talk to him first, before the appointment. Or just do it at the beginning of the appointment before you get into your problems. Tell him that you don't like therapy where you do most of the talking and you just answer questions, that you don't respond well to that and you would like feedback from him and to hear what his thoughts are about your issues and what you can do to fix them. If he doesn't seem to want to pursue that course, then leave and look for another therapist.

If you don't want to change therapists then ask him what his philosophy is about how to treat patients. What he thinks will help them see their problems and teach them how to fix them. Also tell him you aren't progressing this way and would like him to be much more active in your sessions and to talk to you about your problems rather than asking you about them and other aspects of your life. He has to ask you questions, that's normal. But if that's all he does, he's not very good. Also, I think the worst question is "How did that make you feel?" over and over. If he can't see how you feel about what you tell him then he has no business delving into your psyche where he could royally screw things up if he isn't well trained enough to know what he's doing.

Good luck. A good therapist is hard to find. I went to several before I found one who worked well with me. Also, different types of therapy work well for different people. What works for me may not work for you and vice versa. There are tons of types of therapy out there, so look around and see what you can find if you can't get satisfaction out of your current guy.

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I'm giving it another shot. We will see.
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Such good advice...

One thing I might add is to never forget that you are hiring the therapist much as you'd hire a mechanic or computer specialist or design artist. I've run into one or two who were master manipulators & used their powers to convince clients they were solving problems when they really were not. They worked for a large health care provider and had very little if any oversight...

On the other hand, a few years back my spouse and I used the services of a wonderful therapist who would challenge us. Worked great for me - I need a foil to problem solve - but my spouse needed someone nurturing & encouraging. So that initial interview phone call &/or initial visit can be exceedingly useful. But never forget, if it honestly isn't working out (& not just due to discomfort uncovering issues)...there's nothing wrong with stopping and finding someone else. But it's probably best if that's done in the first few sessions?