Cost is one of the most frequent real obstacles and deserves practical rather than moralising treatment.
Therapists in training. They are in the final years of training, work under weekly supervision and charge significantly reduced rates. The supervision is a bigger advantage than it looks: your case is discussed, anonymously, with an experienced therapist.
Reduced frequency. A session every two weeks is less effective than weekly, and far more effective than none. Worth telling the therapist from the start — many structure the work differently if they know.
Group therapy. It costs a fraction and, for certain problems — social anxiety, grief, addiction — has evidence comparable to individual work. For relational problems, a group offers something individual therapy cannot: other people in the room.
Sliding scale. Many therapists keep a few reduced-rate places and do not advertise it. It is a direct question, one they get often and that offends nobody.
Public services and NGOs. Public-system practices, university counselling centres for students, and specialised organisations — on domestic violence, addiction, bereavement — often offer free or low-cost support. Waiting lists exist, and joining one in parallel with something else is a reasonable strategy.
Guided self-help programmes. For mild to moderate anxiety and depression, structured CBT programmes with minimal specialist contact have solid evidence. They do not replace therapy in severe cases, but they are not nothing either.
What is worth avoiding: postponing until “the financial moment is right”. Psychological problems do not wait politely, and one treated early costs less in total than one treated late.