I think the first statement is probably stronger than reflects current guidelines, but the second statement is usually stated in ethical guidelines. I've reviewed the ethical guidelines of half a dozen different therapist, psychologist, and counselor professional organizations, and none of them forbids non-romantic/sexual dual relationships. But they strongly caution the therapist to proceed with care and caution and not to have the dual relationship if there is danger of any harm to or exploitation of the client. One of the organizations states that dual relationships can sometimes be beneficial to the client. So it really comes down to judgment on the therapist's part. In the last decade or so, the thinking on non-romantic/non-sexual dual relationships has softened a bit. I am not familiar with earlier versions of the guidelines, but from some comments I've heard, I think they may have been stricter and more absolutist before. Now, the therapist is given more leeway to judge each particular situation and its nuances.

So if you are worried that doing website work for your T is absolutely forbidden by therapist guidelines, the answer is probably no (although guidelines in your own country might be different...). But your T and you would need to consider if there is potential for harm to you, exploitation by T, or damage to your therapeutic relationship. Perhaps Austin T has considered all of that. It would be good if you could talk about this with him and he could share his decision and any concerns and you could share yours.

Here's a concern I might have. Let's say you do web work for Austin T. From time to time you might need to speak with him about the work--what design elements and functionality he wants, the color scheme, interactive elements, etc. When will you have these discussions? Will it be during your therapy hour? Or will it be outside of therapy? If you do talk about it during therapy, how would that make you feel? Would you feel it was eating away at your time to do therapy? Would you feel able to tell Austin T no, let's not talk about "business" during therapy? Or would that be hard to say since he is giving you sessions pro bono? It's not like you could say, "hey I'm not paying you to talk about websites with me, I'm paying you to be my therapist," because you aren't paying! I think the pro bono fact adds a layer of complexity to this dual relationship. I think if you do decide to do the website work for Austin T, you two will need to establish good boundaries around the work to keep it from impinging on your therapy.

Overall, it was a positive experience for me and the pluses outweighed the minuses. We had a dual relationship for about 2 years, during which my ex-husband and I paid T for his services as a divorce coach. This involved seeing T regularly outside of therapy in a very different role, paying him a different fee, and having the second role affect some of the "rules" surrounding our therapy relationship. The latter was the hardest for me, and this required a lot of trust on my part. I did worry at first that I would not handle well seeing T outside of therapy. I can get very emotional with T in session, and have learned to grieve and cry there. I worried if I saw T in another role, he would be like a trigger for me, and I would be too emotional and vulnerable, when I did not want to be these things. But it was not a problem. I was able to see T outside of therapy and act perfectly normally. I liked being able to see T function in a different role too--it gave me more insight into who he is.

We are done with this dual role now, and T is back to being just my T. Recently, we did discuss whether to begin a different dual role, not one that is fee for service, but more of an outside collaboration. T decided we should not do this. I think he felt it had potential to harm our relationship as we might get into disagreements or conflicts that collaborators sometimes have, and this could harm therapy (and thus harm me). I had thought he might say we could do one relationship or the other, and I might have to choose (that would have been a really hard choice). Why I envisioned this scenario, I do not know. I shared that with him and he said he would never put me in the position of having to make that choice. He said it is his role to be the guardian of our therapeutic relationship and that having to make this choice would be harmful to me and potentially to our relationship (it might force it's premature end). I felt good about that--like he was looking out for me and for "us", and guarding this really special and valuble jewel--our relationship in therapy.

As you can tell, I'm really fascinated by the whole topic of dual relationships. Every situation is unique so my experience probably isn't going to be that relevant to you, Deli. My one piece of advice would be that if you do have a dual relationship, to keep the two relationships as separate as possible. Don't talk business during therapy sessions. When you meet outside for business discussions, do it on neutral turf and don't discuss therapy topics. Keep it professional. If possible, don't have your web services be payment for Austin T's therapy services. Have them be 2 separate transactions and not linked.

Recently, I floated the idea that I might like to interview T for an article on a topic related to his coaching. (I would interview him as an "expert", not as a therapist.) As I mentioned this, I saw doubt flicker over T's face and that was fascinating to me! I knew immediately he was considering possible problems with this. He said that would be a dual relationship (even just a one time interview), and he wasn't sure he could do that--he would have to think about it. He said, maybe it would be OK if it took place in the context of therapy. We didn't really discuss this, but when he said that, my ethical hackles stood up. As a writer, I cannot interview someone and then be expected to pay them, and if I interviewed T during my therapy session, I would be paying him for his interview. This would be unethical, by a writer's code (at least for the sort of article this would be). I was really fascinated that these two ethical codes might recommend different things!

Good luck, Deli.