Most have a time limit. Some ethics say 2 years. Some say you can never befriend the therapist/client.

The therapist/client relationship is unique, with different sets of boundaries and rules. To transition to a friend relationship would be difficult because the therapist has been the one responsible for keeping the relationship in check. They are non-judging, always open to listening, being there with you through it for that 1 hour a week.

A friend relationship is on an even ground. Give and take. It would be incredibly difficult to make the shift from being the therapist and/or the client, to a friend. You would have to listen to the therapist's down falls, their struggles. It wouldn't be just about you any longer. The whole reason therapist's limit self disclosure, is to allow the client to have a safe, undisruptive journey without negative response from the therapist.

I allow myself to really sit and think through what it would be like to take a client in as a friend. I wondered, what would it hurt, really? Well, as a friend, I can be incredibly insensitive when I'm tired. I can feel worn out, angry, irritable. There are times I don't want to sit and process something. There are times, I flat don't care about some things when I'm out of therapist mode.

If you were to shift, now it's not only your FRIEND that said something hurtful. But your "past" therapist. The person who has taught you all these skills, ways to have healthy coping, communication, knows your past inside and out, and yet they still hurt you. That's what makes it so complicated. That other relationship will always, always be there. That this person was your therapist. And as a therapist you're "supposed to" model all of these things. As a friend, not so much.