I think it depends on the individual and what the aims of the therapy are as to how long it should last. The aims are usually discussed and chosen in the first or second session. And they can change during the course of therapy depending on how it goes and external situations. The length decided at the start can be reviewed and changed along the way depending how the client is getting on. A psychotherapist I used to see, said at a review I had when an inpatient just over a decade ago, that I should be in some kind of psychotherapy for life. lol. However, I've managed without it for the most part since being discharged and probably won't seek it ever again. Being stuck in that system when it isn't necessary would just bring me down. The idea of me having it for life was thought up by a psychotherapist working at the Priory I was in. So maybe she wasn't as aware as she should be about the reality of just how costly that would be to implement long-term. Also she might not have been able to predict me recovering as well as I did, at the time.
Personally I find it impossible to answer how long a person should be in therapy because one person might need 3 months, while another - 5 years. Especially as the severity of what they're in therapy for is so different from person to person. Also, dredging things up as happens in therapy doesn't work for everyone. Some actually benefit from leaving the past in the past, with perhaps counseling focusing on the future instead or maybe no professional intervention is required at all.
Why do you think a therapist would string a client along?
Do you mean if it's paid for, i.e for the monetary gain?
I think if a patient feels the sessions should end they have every right to stop them.
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