I had a long post (yes, yet another one) about the pros and cons of Mental Health, Inc. Thing is...I've seen the worst (I hope) that mental health, inc. has to offer. I say I hope its the worst because...well...if it gets much worse than that...I don't know how anybody would live to tell the tale, lol.
My current counselor is a Born Again Christian, masters of divinity, etc. Good man. Counseling isn't his main job. Its a public/community health clinic, and he does a lot of administrative stuff with the different branches of the outpatient clinics, the local state-funded hospital, etc. I think that helps...he's dedicated not so much to psychobabble as to the genuine mission of the clinic: the recovery model.
But, yeah...the worst I've seen is bad. Involuntary shock treatments. Being allowed to OD on a valium-type drug and wet the bed, no treatment for the OD. Being picked on in public by an ex-shrink. Straight up lies in my records ("fakes symptoms," "glamorizes mental illness," etc.).
And yet...what I see now is...hope. I take a lil cocktail. 4 meds, lol. I asked the Dr. about dropping 1, but...no dice just yet :-( . Anyway...the meds work, counseling is going well, and I'm actually--gasp--recovering. I think its worth noting that my "recovery" didn't start until after I got saved. Funny how that works...
I'm glad you've found a counselor who works well with you, and I'm also glad you only go 1x per month. I think that's a good frequency, personally.