I dont know... I would rather my T be a "peer" so to speak. Because, I can talk to a friend. but when theres no peer and theres only T, i get overly nervous, and like i'm constantly being observed and graded.
And a friend i can talk to any time, not just 45mins every few weeks. And the role of a friend doesn't change just because i'm not in that 45 minute window. a friend is always a friend (which is a good thing; and "always" isn't exact but i think it gets my point across) And with a friend my focus isn't all on the problems. and it's not all focused on me, like it is (my experience) when in therapy. T's tend to keep their life quiet and like a secret, which is one reason why i think it becomes so one sided. They might mention what show they saw since the last time they saw you, that had to do with the diagnosis in the charts.
never knowing anything about them, or their life.
I mean, just because your a parent, it doesn't mean that you can't go out and have fun with your child. not one parent views their role the same. and T's go by the ethics role, or most of them do. - I just used the role of a parent for an example because both a T and parents are sorta like the authority (the friendly kind usually).
But even with a T, I will likely go to a friend first if i have something that i'm worrying about or getting stressed out about.
And with friends, you can just hang out, and have fun. which is usually, for me, more theraputic than sitting in an office for 45 mins and facing eachother.

(again, these are just all my opinion...)