When one graduates university to begin being a therapist, one needs clients. So they start at the clinic, which pays a starvation wage. As soon as a therapist is good enough they move to a better paying job. Typically the better therapists leave the clinic sooner.
It really, really depends on the therapist. Some suck and some are fantastic. If you can find the right one, it’s definitely worth it. I had a licensed social worker as a therapist in my early twenties, and she was fantastic. She wasn’t highly qualified but she had an amazing disposition for that sort of work.