Of course there is manipulation involved. I'm a teacher, and when I am trying to move my students from point A to point B, I absolutely manipulate the environment, the sequence of lessons, the discussions and activities, etc. in order to best help them get them to that point. Sometimes it is covert; other times I tell them exactly why I am setting things up they way I am. I don't particularly see therapist's roles all that much differently. They will help steer discussion, help us practices strategies, etc. in such a way as to move us forward in hopefully a productive way. My T most of the time told me exactly what he was doing and why; other times I completely saw it for myself even if he didn't come out and tell me; and, a few times he was not so obvious about it and only in retrospect did I realize why he did things the way he did.