When people talk about “therapy” here, they most likely are thinking of bog-standard talk therapy, where you just go in and kinda, well, talk to someone about your life, problems, etc.
For some people, it’s enough to just get things off their chest, talk about things out loud with someone and helps them deal with their issues. I personally see such a therapist monthly and find it beneficial to my mental health.
For others, especially those with more intense troubles and traumas, it may not be, and would probably be served better by someone more specialized with said traumas.
Like any medical profession, the quality of individual therapists and mental health experts can vary widely, from chuds to libs to comrades and everything in-between. there’s a solid chance you may not get the perfect fit on try 1, I didn’t.
I just feel like some people are dipping their toes into Scientology-ish “all therapy is bad, never seek professional help for your problems” stuff, which I think is disastrous advice.
I don’t think drugs are necessarily the answer but therapy is in most cases so prohibitively expensive it’s almost certainly never the answer for the majority of people. $50-100 per week on therapy, if we’re being extremely generous, could fund multiple drug addictions.
The way things are set up, yes, it’s prohibitively expensive and standards (and methods of treatment) are sloppy and all over the place.
I don’t think multiple drug addictions would really help that person either, at least not as much as the kind of educated and experienced person (be they a psychiatrist, psychologist, a very kind and understanding dealer, a shaman, or whatever) that would narrow down courses of treatment. In the case of the cousin I mentioned, just bouncing from one “just do (drug) bro don’t be a (slur) bro” after another was almost like fad dieting, except more expensive.
I don’t have easy answers when it comes to something being affordable and in easy reach with a keen diagnosis for someone in need that can’t afford to try a lot of things.