Short answer: Absolutely I think they are worth every bit of their costs. It is an investment in the self, and I feel people spend far too little money on themselves and their own well being and happiness, supplementing it with sale items and material products.
Psychs are like any other thing--they're assisting you in helping yourself. If you're not willing to listen to them, and give their way a shot (as clearly whatever you've been doing on your own accord is not working) then they're going to seem like total quacks to you no matter what.
I think they serve a really great purpose. We don't just throw people into loony bins anymore. We don't think people just have nameless disorders like hysteria. They're a great buffer between yourself and your support network, and some serious issues that can really destroy your own life.
And really, even without grave issues being present, sometimes a counselor of some sort is a great asset to a person. My parents insisted on my sister seeing one when a somewhat traumatic incident happened to her, and I feel that working through it then gave a lot of closure to the situation and it has been years without any side effects of that trauma. I think without the psych it wouldn't be like that entirely.
To give a personal example: my sisters and I started attending a psych this past year because my two sisters were fighting like cats and dogs. They really could NOT get along, to the point where they were actually punishing their own kids over.. shit, really. Pointless shit that no one cares about or cared about then except those two at the time, and grudges held in the mean while.
Now, the psych literally said NOTHING that I did not say to them for the past 2 years. Not a thing. The methodology she used, and the things she tried to implement.. they were precisely what I was working for and towards. The problem is that I wasn't getting through, and the counselor did. I guess hearing it from someone else that's impartial to the situation and problem really does make a lot of difference. I think it'd have been frustrating to me, only I was just happy that they were starting to get along at all. We didn't finish the counseling sessions--my free services from the army expired when I got out--but even with half-assing it the psych helped my sisters a lot, and in turn helped me a lot.
I have had friends that just had life shit in their hands their whole lives, and they finally decided they wanted out of that situation and to improve their position.. and with the help of a counselor, even with their disagreements with his instructions and motivations and all, I think the counselor helped them pull themselves up and out of the muck. My family still asks about how they are doing, and talks about how proud they are of the work they've done.
I know there's a lot of quacks out there.. and there are human psychs just like human doctors or lawyers--some suck, some rock, some just do their job. But I still think if you have an issue, at all, any issue.. and you truly just need some guidance, venting, perspective, and analysis, that a psych is really a huge asset. Friends and family are not trained nor are they required to have the experience nor confidentiality to deal with more serious issues. And sometimes people don't realize how deep and dug in those issues run--like in the case of my father's depression which took counselors and psychs at the VA hospital weeks to uncover because he always attributed his sleepiness, lethargy, and disinterest with his illness.
I recommend them on the forum here a lot to people, and there's good reason for that. They truly are there to help. Sure, they need to make money too, but a good counselor is there to help you with what you need help with. They cannot do anything for you.. but they can light lanterns on your path.