But not, apparently in many cases, "unethical", according to the code that therapists themselves, not clients or client advocates, have written.



This isn't universally true. In the US, while the APA and other professional societies provide ethical guidelines, they are not binding unless adopted by the state boards that control licensing and the adjudication of complaints. My former T was on my state board, which still didn't have a formal ethics code, until he promoted writing one in the mid-1970's. He opened the board to a citizen advisory panel for input into the ethics code process, and established a permanent seat on the board for a non MH professional. I have no idea what the make-up is of other state's boards, but the diversity is because practice licensure is controlled at the state level.