You also have to think about it from the perspective of the therapist. If the therapist is with a friend/colleague/child/spouse they may not initiate/reciprocate contact because they do not want the person they are with knowing you are a client. They may not want to have to answer questions to the person you are with about how they know you. Confidentiality is very important to a lot of clients. It is easier to keep one base (most restrictive) rules to keep from making a mistake with a client.