I think wanting a manual may speak to trust issues, and certainly to security issues which I think are related.
Therapy can be ambiguous and trust is needed to 'just do it' sometimes. I think that's when trust became an ally for me, when I could see that choosing to trust could expand the experience, widen the somewhat narrow protective limits and boundaries I had (silently) set up and was adhering to. They created a lot of uneasiness, hesitancy, and fears in me.

Someone told me once to look at therapy as a really interesting book that we read with wonder and curiosity about what happens next and how it will turn out