Psych grad student here, and yes I'm biased for obvious reasons, so don't let me fool you otherwise, but I want to share my perspective.
I know most people here have been deeply disappointed by the mental health treatment they received, but in my humble opinion, it's not a "scam" so to speak.
Does it work for everyone? No. There are several reasons why, but the main reason is that we don't understand enough at this moment. Psychology, compared to other health related research fields, is still relatively new.
So why do I say it's not a scam? Because believe it or not, modern science has strict standards, and so what is allowed to be practiced is held to a high level of accountability. This means applying only evidence based practices, which every licensed psychiatrist, therapist, social worker, clinical psychologist, and even counselor are supposed to hold themselves to. In fact, the people who hold psychologists standards the highest are insurance agencies, because they will do everything in their power to not give money away, so it takes quite a lot of well documented and tested research for an approach to reach the standards insurance requires.
Now, this does not mean that there isn't plenty of wrong that is deeply intertwined in modern mental healthcare. My personal biggest issue is the complete and utter lack of transparency with patients. If you are walking out of a clinic, not knowing what the diagnostic tools you just did are for, not knowing what diagnosis for a disorder you received, not understanding anything about the disorder and how it impacts your life, not understanding the medication you were prescribed and why you should or shouldn't take it, and not understanding the proposed and agreed up treatment plan the clinician, then that clinician has deeply failed you.
I think the mental health industry accidentally or sadly sometimes intentionally preys on people who are actually fine and just need help channeling their unusual abilities.
There is some truth to this, but it's almost certainly unintentional. The problem is largely over diagnosing and subsequent prescribing. But why does over diagnosing happen? Well for one, it's a way to ensure that the patient receives insurance coverage. Moreover, some professionals prefer not err too much on the side of caution. They see it better to over diagnose than miss a diagnosis entirely.
I suspect governments prefer a numbed society constantly thinking something is wrong with itself.
It's social control. Keep as many slaves slaving away for as long as possible.
You are fully allowed to believe this, but I do want to make it clear that for the most part, the government doesn't have as much control in the mental healthcare industry as you think, and that's mainly because the majority of practicing clinicians aren't government employees and are private practitioners. And even then, you would have to believe that every single government was in some coalition with one another, which you are welcome to believe, but I personally doubt that.
Most psychologists are thieves
I understand your frustration, but all I'm going to say is that no clinician gets paid to diagnose you or give you prescriptions. In fact, the only person who receives direct financial benefit is you, the patient. This is because a lot of insurance companies won't bother even reimbursing you for the session if you don't receive a diagnosis or have one currently. You can argue they are wasting your time intentionally for money, but that only really applies to private self employed clinicians, and even then a lot of therapists actually prefer to stick to the 6-20 session schedule, meaning they aren't holding you hostage for years. Nonetheless, you are still welcome to call all psychologists thieves, but I'd say it's healthier and more appropriate to turn your ire to the insurance and pharmaceutical industry, not the clinicians who studied 6-10 years and are hundreds of thousands in debt while making half the salary of a general physician.
A scam in my opinion.
I mean, why do they charge ridiculous amounts of money?
Why do they enjoy having rich clients?
Obviously, a scam.
If you ask me it should be a free service done off taxpayer dollars. But there is a major reason for why it costs so much, and that's lack of supply(not enough clinicians) and high demand combined with the barrier to entry being very great. To get a PhD or PsyD, it can take anywhere from 9-10 years of total school, and cost upwards of 200k, meaning it's not uncommon for newly entering clinicians to be massively in debt. Moreover, compared to other healthcare positions with similar schooling required, they actually make far less. Moreover, mental healthcare is actually less expensive per session that most other healthcare, although unlike your general physician you obviously meet much more. If you don't have decent insurance, then it's extremely expensive to receive treatment. If you want someone to blame though, blame the hospitals for charging more, since the hospitals are the ones who generally determine the average going rates. Or alternatively blame the broken education system which makes it economically idiotic to pursue a long term degree in psychology.
As for the rich clients, it's not rich clients but instead that there is a preference for high functioning members of society. Clients like these are considered more stable and lower risk. I actually have a major problem with this, because I genuinely believe that the mental health industry has failed the people who need it most by instead deferring to people who are generally better off. In a lot of ways, mental health is just another cog in the capitalism wheel, to insure that workers are working to their highest efficiency. And the non workers? Well they are effectively barred from proper treatment.
I think it isn't as long as you're willing to put in the effort, just my 0.02
Yes and no. Effort alone often isn't enough to dig people out of some of the more severe and serious disorders. If the clinician is actively failing you, then you are ill equipped to proceed regardless of the effort put in. Effort is only one half of the whole pie. The system needs to make up that other half, else you are effectively trying to reach your destinations without shoes or a map.
Not trying to downplay mental health, but if you watch the second half of the video, you'll see psychiatrists admit they can't entirely "cure" their patients. And the drugs they prescribe only make shit worse.
I received therapy briefly and I think it's hilarious they gave me an antidepressant with side effects that included suicidal ideation. What's up with that?
Nothing you said is necessarily false but it's also not a complete picture. Many serious disorders aren't "curable" as of right now but they are treatable. Matter of fact, they may never be curable. Our scientific understanding at this moment is unfortunately just too limited, and mental illnesses are far too multi factorial for us to properly shoot them with a silver bullet. It's why you are often given 20 different things to do to help, from taking meds, to eating health, to exercising, and so on. The reality is the current solution is to just shotgun blast the disorder with as many possible evidence based solutions as you can, and hope that something works. Also, I'd be cautious saying psychiatric meds "make shit worse", because for people like myself who need to take anti psychotics, I can assure you I am far worse when off the meds than on. This is similar for many of the more severe disorders, and even for less severe ones like major depressive disorder/persistent depressive disorder. People respond differently to meds depending on their specific deficiencies. An SSRI isn't going to help someone who has a dopamine or a norepinephrine defiance. Finding the right med takes weeks if not months, but it's definitely a lifesaver when found.
As for why most anti depressants have "ideation as a side effect" it's because during the two week transition from when you start taking the meds, your body will experience increase excitement, which can lead to agitation, and subsequently ideation. This however, is usually not a long term side effect, and is mostly a warning for short term as your body adapts to the medications changes.
I think it definitely a scam. My son says therapy helped him so ... Maybe it is good for some people but not my thing. I don't need one more person in my life who thinks they are smarter than me and that their education makes them qualified to tell me how I should feel about shit.
This is a fair take. Not everything needs to be pathologized, and clinicians can definetly fall into that trap. The odds are you know yourself better. The purpose of a clinician shouldn't be to patronize you or tell you how to feel, but to work around you and assist how they can. I will say one thing though as a psych grad student. The PhD's who go into clinical practice are the kinder ones. Those who go into education and research tend to have larger egos lmao.
Psychiatry is a pseudoscientific scam that causes a lot of harm. It's not easy to undo the harm, either.
I'd caution you from making this claim unless you have a lot of evidence you are willing to dish out to back it up. If you want to argue that psychiatric drugs made by big pharma can at times be less scientifically valid(Aduhelm for example) then by all means do. But I can assure you that almost all medication has been rigorously tested, especially against placebo to guarantee it actually is reliably effective for the targeted disorders.
In theory, I think some folks can find relief from mental healthcare. I hear about it often. However, I don't put much stock in the scientific field that championed the lobotomy.
In practice, you have someone selling you a service in which they explicitly benefit from your repeated business. Companies make money every time you order meds. As people, I find mental health "advocates" to be insufferable airheads. If mental healthcare professionals gave a shit about you, then why is money always the endgame?
So, is it a scam? Maybe. I suppose it depends on how you define scam. You get what you pay for sometimes.
Is it predatory? There isn't a doubt in my mind that it is.
Out of curiosity, do you trust your general physician to treat you for a common cold or a broken bone? They use to champion the four humors theory. Science grows and changes constantly as we gain new evidence. If you want to believe that psychology just isn't at a stage you can trust yet then thats perfectly fine, but it's kinda the tragedy of science that they have all started out from less scientific methods.
Moreover, in terms of the whole money thing you are correct, but like I said to others in this reply, I think most people overestimate how much your therapist is getting paid, especially when considering how much the insurance agency makes, the hospital makes, and the pharmaceutical manufacturer who made the prescription makes. You are fully free to lob your therapist who might still dealing with student loans into that mix, but genuinely, if you wanted to go into healthcare as a practitioner for money, you would never pick the mental healthcare space.
As for the predatory thing, I'm going to double down that your clinician is most likely not predatory. It's actually in a clinicians best interest to not diagnose or prescribe, since doing so can come with numerous legal repercussions if something goes wrong. Clinicians aren't paid for diagnosing you as much as they can, nor do they make money when they prescribe medication to you, or even when you buy prescription. Often times, being diagnosed only benefits the patient financially, since it forces insurance companies to reimburse the patient.
My experience has been less than satisfactory.
This is the reality for most of us including myself. I will die on the hill defending the science that is practiced, but I will whole heartedly admit that a lot of the times clinicians have failed me. I've been in therapy since I was 6 years old, I've been self harming since an infant, and I've spent most of my life in and out of the mental health industry. To say it failed me is an understatement lol.
If you find yourself personally not trusting them, then by all means don't. It's better that you feel comfortable at the end of the day. You know yourself best!
i think if they see someone that's sad or depressed then they will try to help them by listening to them and giving them general advice. they also do their best to not make anything worse(obviously). but sometimes somebody needs to talk to somebody else who just doesn't set them off. but there's also people that don't find relief from it which (I'm assuming) would be you. I don't believe its a scam i just think they take a really cautious approach to their clients and do their best trying to help them from that position. that's why it seems like a scam i believe. because it doesn't seem like they are trying to fix anything they are just listening and giving the calmest response possible but that really helps a lot of people. i could be spewing nonsense but it makes sense in my head at least.
I'm tagging you at the end because I appreciate this response. I expect mainly hate towards practitioners, and this is a very level headed and well observed take. I will say one thing though, and that your observations appear to match the standard practice for psychotherapy(talk therapy), but, it doesn't necessarily match the other types. Different types will take different approaches(CBT, DBT, TRDT, ACT, etc.)! You aren't spewing nonsense though you are absolutely correct in your assessment.
I really don't think that is possible. 
I have only been kicked out of one doctor's office and that was because I said "Goddamnit, all you guys are the same."
