It perplexes me how you read blame in this thread though when I read it again I can see how you were able to make that reading.

Stopdog, I'm sure as a lawyer you are well aware of how logic can be used in different ways to reach very different conclusions. My post can be seen as client-empowering or client-blaming, as you noted.

I think clients are the ones doing most of the work of the therapy, and that many motivated people may do well even without therapy (depending on severity of issues of course), given good social support and resourcefulness and other forms of guidance. So therapy is not the only way and when it is, the client plays a major role in the success.

I assume your view is different, so therapists are the ones with the power, and when it works, therapists gets most of the credit (meaning client had little to do with improvement) and when it goes wrong it's mostly the therapist's fault?

But a negative spin could be put on the latter view too, assuming that is closer to your view, as it can be seen as disempowering of clients and exaggerating the power or ability or authority of therapists.

I don't like to use blame language and I don't think acknowledging person not being ready for change is the same as saying a therapy's failure is his fault. Have you dealt with court-ordered therapy? How successful were they in making deep lasting changes? You can't force people to want to change. Person's own will and desire and motivation is a big part of it.