i guess there are two questions going on here, really.

1) what are you expectations regarding how long you will be in therapy
2) do you think being in therapy "forever" is ok?
oh, and a 3rd one which ppl seem to be answering instead:
3) would you like to be in therapy forever.

re: the first question. i started with pdoc and honestly assumed i would see him maybe 3-4 times over the year and be off my meds by the end of it. i remember having a crisis of sorts around the 2 year mark, when i figured out there wasn't an end in sight (just yet). so my expectations have changed quite considerably. where i am right now... i expect i will finish up (hopefully!) in another 2-3ish years, but sooner is better. pdoc expects that i will always require some form of medication, but that once i've settled my "issues" that i will be a lot more stable and that we can probably catch up once a year or if i feel i need some adjustments made.

re: the rightness/wrongness of it all. i think it should be an implicit goal that people work towards making therapy less a part of their lives. certainly it is part of the therapist's ethical guidelines. i think a potential hazard with therapy being "forever" is that the client (and therapist) might not work so hard to make things better. i often notice that i will turn to pdoc instead of my friends, even when i know my friends are more than capable of meeting my needs in that moment. of course it makes sense that i would turn to pdoc (i trust him) but it hinders me forming lasting and meaningful relationships in the 'outside' world. often i will let austin-t guide me through things i can do for myself, if i just put an hour aside to think it through & problem solve.

i agree with stumpy that you should look after your head the way you should look after your body. but i have my fair share of chronic illnesses myself, and after the initial few consultations, i learnt how to manage them myself (and consult a dr as required). i hope therapy puts me in that place also. i would like to be able to deal with grief without needing to run to a therapist to guide me through it. i would like more self belief to be able to handle my own (normal for the general human race) ups and downs.

as for the third question. i would LOVE to be in therapy forever!! but that means having pdoc and austin-t around forever, and both of them could just as easily die tomorrow and i wouldn't want to find someone new (unless of course i had unfinished business to work through). "therapy forever" means a concrete relationship with someone who cares about me and someone i care about. but i know i could just meet that need by emailing every so often, or dropping by for a chat. i dont need to be a forever-client for that.