Great question.
Yes, counseling really helps, at least in my experience. I've sought counseling during two very difficult periods in my life, and it absolutely helped me through both of them. There's something amazingly therapeutic about laying out your raw feelings to an objective third party and having them tell you that you aren't wrong or crazy or bad or stupid to feel the way you feel. Validation is a powerful thing, and it begins with putting into words the dark, ugly, self-defeating thoughts we allow to kick around in our brains. Those thoughts tend to lose their grip on us once they're spoken aloud and shared with another person.
Therapy isn't easy though. It takes time and work and will stir up a lot of dust you'd rather ignore, but that's a necessary part of cleaning house. I think some people enter counseling expecting a quick fix by the second or third session that will instantly cure them, but that's not how it works. Effective counseling, like many worthy processes, is a marathon, not a sprint, although even one or two sessions in the shrink's chair can help you begin to feel better.
As for feeling like you know what they're going to say--you don't. I thought I did, too, but I was wrong. A good therapist will see things you don't and open your eyes to possibilities you never considered.
Counseling can be expensive, true, but most insurance and many employers will cover it (within limits). There is also low-cost counseling available in most places: read about some of your options here, here (under heading "Low Cost Treatment") and here (link directed at teens but most of the info applies to anyone).
You can always try a session or two and see how you like it. It can't hurt, right?
Thanks for the question. I hope you can find the help you need to move on with your life.
These days a lot of companies have an EAP as well. It provides short term counseling that's separate from your health insurance at no cost to you. It is also completely confidential. If you work for a larger company it's probably a benefit you have.
Counseling totally helps. I've been going for just over a year (initially for PTSD after a near death car accident) but now I can speak to my therapist about ANYTHING. Find someone who clicks with you. Sometimes a person of the opposite sex can give you a better perspective. Don't choose someone who always sides with you--you need truth and resolve, not JUST comfort (though you'll get that too).
Also, it might feel awkward telling a stranger your problems, but just remember that this is their job. No, you're not the craziest patient they're seeing, you're not psycho, you just need assistance. They are the least judgmental people out there.
Also, I don't know how old you are, but If you're in college, most colleges offer free counseling which I do in addition to seeing my therapist.
Psychology today has a section of their website dedicated to finding a therapist close to you, and most of them have profiles right on the website. You can choose what focus you want even. It is an amazing tool.
Therapy works if you let it. In high school I had to go due to being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but I was too stubborn and wouldn't work with her. My problems would have been over much quicker had I been open to it.
I had a therapist in the beginning of high school to deal with stress related to a medical disorder I was struggling with(the disorder itself didn't cause stress, but dealing with the symptoms was stressful, if that makes sense). It worked wonders for me. :)
As Cary said, a few sessions isn't going to immediately fix your problems, but in a lot of cases(like mine), the lessons you learn in therapy help you learn how to solve your problems on your own. Also as Cary said, be prepared for therapy to stir up things you weren't expecting to be stirred up. I left my first three or four sessions in tears, but felt so, so much better after each one. Usually people decide to get therapy after letting problems build and build up inside, and to get the most out of each session, you have to talk through them. It's hard, but it's the only way to get over them.
If you're religious, most churches offer some type of free counseling or therapy. As Meepa said, most colleges also have a free counseling program. Look around online and you should be able to find a cheap/free service near you.
Best wishes. :)
Counseling really does help but know that you can't predict the outcome of it. I went to a psychologist as a teenager to better my communicationr. Then I went when I was in my 20's with my partner to help work through some of our issues.
To this day, I still practice techniques I learned while in counseling and feel like a more complete person. I know my faults, actively work on them, but also know my strengths and what I deserve. It was so satisfying to bounce thoughts off someone else and dig deeper than I would have if I was just on my own. The questions my counselor would ask, the 'homework' I was given, was SO worth the investment.
I'd suggest finding something that compares to the cost of counseling that you already put money into and try to cut back. If you drink expensive coffee drinks, go out to eat often, or rent a lot of movies try to cut down on those luxuries. Also, you can dictate the appointments, if you can afford once a week, every two weeks, or once a month set it up that way. You're worth investing in and you'll come out a better person.
You may also have to try out more than one psychologist before you find one that works out for you. When I went back to it in my 20's I actually emailed the one I saw as a teenager and he suggested some different couples counselors.
If you live in Canada, you can also research what may be covered in your province. I have a friend with OCD who's counseling is free and my counseling was covered by my treaty benefits since I'm half native.