I'm beginning to think (rather belatedly, I know) that all of this is closely related to the expectations that one has about therapy / therapists.

At times, I've had expectations of my therapist that were along the lines of her going a bit beyond her therapist persona (for lack of a better term) and really trying to understand me -- to me, the question around how to terminate in a way that feels okay to the client will fall into that realm.

But, I've realized that it's kinda pointless to go down that road -- not because she's awful or anything but that's simply her limitation (I can't parse out how much of it is her personality versus training versus the profession's strictures etc).

So, at this point, I've boiled down my expectations to the following -- she shows up when she says she does + she at least appears to make an attempt to change what she says out loud when I correct her understanding of whatever it is that I'm trying to explain (I don't care if she believes me or not -- I just need her to verbalize the correct thing).

Beyond that, if things get truly messy -- E.g. I really question her competence etc -- I'm pretty sure she'd have no compunctions whatsoever in cutting me loose in the quickest and most efficient way (to serve her needs) possible. And, I'm pretty sure this will be the case even if I see her for years on end.

I don't see that as ethical or unethical -- it's just the way the world works as far as I'm concerned (cynical, yes). So, I don't see therapy or therapists as adhering to some higher standard than the rest of the population despite their claims to the contrary -- I mean of course they have to make it sound like they're heaven's gift to the human species just like every used car salesman will try to convince you that the car they're selling will change your life.