Interesting thread- I saw a T for a long time that had very loose boundaries. I met her kids, saw her at social functions and she once gave me a pic of her holding her ganddaughter.Lots of hugs and extra sessions at odd times. She was helpful during a hard time, but now I think created an unhealthy dependency.
I've been hyper aware of this risk as I get closer to my current T. This fall, I saw her in passing with her daughter, I was with mine and we were both shopping for homecomg dresses. There was that staring moment,that seemed to last forever. We exchanged a quick smile and a hi. We talked about it next session, and it was a healing moment. Turns out we were both concerned about the same thing- just keeping the contact short and NOT getting our daughters invoved. T could be trusted- I could be trusted! What a relief.