Any service like this (therapy, doctors, dentists - don't get me started on dentists - LOL, lawyers, accountants, etc.) is costly if you are paying the standard rate. There are lower cost options available, and at least in the U.S. you can generally use insurance if you follow insurance lists, etc. Unfortunately, it can be hard to find those lower cost options and/or some don't qualify.

Therapists are maintaining the cost of running a business, and depending on how their practice is set up and where it is set up, those costs can be rather extensive. The bottom line is their bottom line. They have to be able to afford the costs of running their business and make income beyond that for their own pay. Some therapists work out of a larger practice where the costs for other personnel, space, utilities, etc. is shared which helps some.

The only way many people afford therapy is because they find therapists associated with their insurance so that their personal cost is a copay rather than the full rate.

Many therapists do offer a sliding scale of lower rates for a certain number of clients that they have figured into their budgeting, but there is an obvious limit on how many clients they can maintain that way.