"around here where I live and work we have rules that prevent ex therapists from making contact with ex clients. if you were here and I was that therapist I would have no choice but to do the same - turn my head/ body away from you, prevent any eye contact, looks, bodily contact, and veer to a different path so that anything I do does not alert other people that may be around from knowing I know the client or ex client. its called protecting the client / ex clients confidentiality.

the only way in which I would be able to make eye contact, pass a client / ex clients path or otherwise acknowledge the client / ex client is if I have permission from the client / ex client stating I may do so."

Wow, how bizarre. Sounds like "Extreme Avoidance: Therapist Edition." Did anyone ever stop to think that such an odd and extreme behavior could actually draw more attention to the situation instead of protecting the client? Where I live in the US a therapist is expected to behave as he would when passing any stranger -- he does not have to veer to a different path to avoid passing me or go to such extremes to pretend he does not know me. It's pretty simple. He treats me as he would any other stranger unless I acknowledge him first. That protects my confidentiality and allows me to choose when I want to say hi and when I'd rather not, depending on who is with me or where I am at the time.