Good point. A lack of concrete goals is one of the factors that keeps professionals unaccountable, which contributes into harm. When we don't know what we are working on, we can do anything and I, as a therapist, can promote any non-sense I want and push you in any direction I want because you don't know what you want.

And it's also true that when someone is in truly mentally ill and isn't able to set concrete goals, all they need is a lot of support and guidance. But why do we need a professional to fulfill this function? Why can't we offer some communal services that would provide that kind of support? Emotional support is not something you learn in a graduate school or in a professional training. It's an organic part of our humanity. If we are at the point that emotional support is supposed to be provided by professionals only, at regular times and in measured dosages, then God save us all.. In that case, we are done as a civilization..