I think it is cruel, but more so if it's interrupted by termination on either side before it gets to a more finished place.

I do wonder how they can do this kind of work and not feel any guilt about it, though. The other day, my dog got into the waste basket at my therapist's office and pulled out tissue. My therapist said it was really full that day. I looked. She was right. And it was only 2:00 in the afternoon. Had everyone been crying that day or just one or two heavy lifters? I'd been sobbing, but hadn't used any tissue because I was too absorbed in my pain, so I just used the old fashioned method. Anyway, she said it like she was just noticing the weather outside, and I thought...wow, these people really are detached. She's not a cold person, but she is also not a rescuer or comforter. It was sobering to take all of that in via the trashcan. So yeah, I think it's cruel on many levels. I'm just not sure what the option is, or if this actually does end well, and it's impossible to see that during the endlessly dark middle of it all.