Of course therapy has to have a purpose, or we wouldn't go. But that is not the same as requiring that we know what it is we want to achieve, or that we have quantifiable goals. But this is by necessity an abstract discussion, unless I start talking about why I am in therapy, which is irrelevant and uninteresting.

All I am saying is that it is 100% fine for some people to go to therapy without knowing what it is they need to work towards, and without having a specificgoal in mind, and without discussing with their therapist if that goal has been met or not. It is not a waste of time or money if the therapy is effective. That therapy needs to be ethical goes without saying, but I do not believe that any ethical codes specify that the therapist has to demand of the client that they (the client) should know what it is they need from therapy. And I have been in therapy with a very expensive therapist who kept talking about my goals and whether they were met. That was invalidating, humiliating, and a huge waste of my time and money. I wouldn't call it unethical, but it certainly wasn't good therapy.