I can see it going either way and being appropriate either way depending on the individual.

For me, I definitely went through times when I thought I'd have to be in therapy forever. My therapist never thought so and always reminded me that the goal is to reach that place where therapy isn't needed. In the back of my mind I thought, "Yeah right, T, but I'm never going to reach that point." But over time, I did reach that place despite what I thought about my ability to ever get there. I haven't needed regular therapy for over a year now and I don't foresee ever really needing long-term therapy again. I do see myself going in occasionally for a few sessions here or there to deal with situational issues perhaps, but I also see that as very short-term (and I think research holds out that most people only go to therapy short-term and move on).

I could be wrong. Something could change for me, and I'm open to that. But what I've found about myself is that now I have the tools in my belt to manage and cope with what life throws at me in much more effective ways than I did when I went into therapy. I find that so far, I am able to use what I know on my own pretty effectively, so needing long-term therapy (that took so long originally because I was starting from scratch and had to learn those skills) probably won't be further needed.