Inspired by the memes, hate, misconceptions, and lived experiences of people sharing their experience having consultations with a therapist, I'd have to say some of these are ridiculous but understandable at times.
My own opinion doing psychiatric consults and this is in general:
There's no universal technique that applies to all patients because each individual has their own special circumstances that got them seeking consult in the first place. While there are studies that support this technique works with this problem and that, sometimes it's just right technique wrong therapist or vice versa.
Just my a list of scenarios I personally experienced in training and already setting up a disclaimer that it's my bias.
Multiple techniques to approach therapy but not enough time to try it all out.
There's the popular cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and etc. to choose from but it's rare to find patients being patient to try all these things if first one fails. And failure can be something inherent to the patient like their own resistance to treatment, therapist's experience and skills doing the technique or handling patients of similar cases.
If you fail the first and second try, morale suffers and a patient can give up trying. This isn't just a one time session per technique and each technique can take weeks to finish if done on a weekly basis. For people living somewhere in developed countries, I can understand why it's costly to seek these consults and to have suboptimal results in the end is disheartening.
Unrealistic expectations despite trying to ground things into reality
I always state that this is a process and the road to healing will be bumpy at times. However, this doesn't stop people from setting unrealistic expectations like they would be "fixed" especially if they invested time and money for it (meds and consult fees). The amount one spends for therapy has nothing to do with the outcome.
Imagine having unhealthy coping mechanisms, tragic pasts, and troubled relationships carried throughout the years that leave an individual broken. It's going to take more than a few sessions to get that individual to undo the self sabotage and redirect their coping habits to healthy alternatives. The process can take several years but this pill is hard to swallow. While some individuals eventually get their footing and graduate, some need more time and effort but again, this stuff is costly to maintain.
There are bad therapists
The laws that govern mental health can be different for different countries so trainings and licenses to handle mental health can have varying standards. Sometimes people from diploma mill institutions exists and patients can find themselves unfortunate to encounter them. These people really do make a lot of money without making any difference.
There are ideal conditions and there is reality
As much as I want to spend more time with each person, there are plenty in line waiting that also requires attention. Public hospitals with psychiatry units are overwhelmed by volume and this can affect the quality of care rendered. Private psychiatrists or psychologists can have the luxury of scheduling appointments allowing more room for each patient to fully maximize their consultation time.
There are difficult patients
No matter how much one masters textbook knowledge, there will always be patients that prove challenging even for veterans. So not getting better while attending therapy is a common scenario. Some patients carry with them a notion that therapy isn't going to help them so it makes the initial interaction less productive because they are already guarded and closed off efforts to bother.
Sometimes they recognize the problem and know the solution but just don't want to commit. It's part of the problem but there's only so much one can do when faced with dead ends. Sometimes they just go doctor hoping so they end up getting a variety of results just to prove something or waste everyone's time for nothing.
A therapist may have the skills to disarm the resistances but like everything else, these take time and resources for both parties.
Lately, I find myself being sought after. These are the types that I wish the meds will be enough. I'm struggling with Narcissistic Personality Disorders and Borderline Personality Disorders. I seem to be a magnet for these cases.
Thanks for your time.