I have been to several of the kind of intimate gatherings you are talking about-- Burning Man, Arete, Hestia, Landmark, and several lesbian/feminist consciousness raising retreats. I understand what you mean when you say that societal rules are largely discarded for the duration of the event. However, I do not think it would be at all appropriate for a T to attend that kind of an event with a client. In fact, in one retreat I participated in, they divided us into sharing groups and intentionally divided certain people in order to prevent a former teacher/student and a parent/adult kid's friend pair from interacting too closely with one another as they felt that would be "inappropriate." The T-client relationship can never be "pushed aside," even during these kinds of retreats. The T-client relationship supersedes all other possible relationships-- not only ethically, but often legally as well. In my state in the US, it is actually illegal for a T to have a "dual relationship" or "outside of therapy" relationship (non-sexual or sexual) with a client within 2 years of termination. So, if a T were to drive in a car to Burning Man with a client and interact with the client at the festival, the therapist could actually lose their license.

Aside from the legality of it, you have to ask yourself: "Why would the therapist WANT to attend a festival with a client?" Most therapists would find that incredibly uncomfortable, awkward, and unappealing. There is really no incentive for the therapist. They would not want to spend their personal, free time with someone who is their "job." They would not feel comfortable sharing their personal life or their free time with a client, and they would not want to "work" by hearing about the client's life or the client's experience of the event during their off-time. Most likely, the T is already over-worked and has little free time to spend with friends, family, partner, etc. Why would a T want to go to a festival where they had no friends, no partner, and no family-- and the closest personal connection they had was a client? Doesn't sound like much fun! How could the T possibly relax and let loose with a client there?

My T and I are quite close, and she has relatively loose boundaries for a T. She has told me a lot about her personal life and her relationships, and she allows contact between sessions. But even she doesn't feel comfortable attending events that me or other clients will be at. For instance, she and I are both part of the LGBT community and she wanted to attend Pride-- but she didn't because she said she couldn't enjoy the festival because there was too big of a risk of running into clients. She said she would feel that she had to constantly look over her shoulder and monitor her behavior, lest a client see her acting "unprofessional." She said that IF we were friends instead of Client-T, I'd be a fun person to see at Pride. BUT, she said that because we ARE T-client, it would be inappropriate. In that instance, T-client overrules the fact that, under different circumstances, we could be two LGBT women chatting, having drinks, and introducing our friends/partners to one another. I feel the same way as my T-- I don't want to see HER at Pride either! I would feel as if I had to look over my shoulder, and make sure my T didn't catch me making out with a beautiful woman by the beer tent! So, in that, we agree.

But, even if I didn't and I felt the way you do, it wouldn't matter because BOTH people would have to be ok with those kind of loose boundaries. If just ONE person is not okay with that, then it can't happen. You also have to understand, whether you agree or not, that in many professional circles, it would make T look VERY bad to her colleagues and governing agencies to be going to retreats with her clients. It would jeopardize her professional career. Most Ts would not want to jeopardize their career over something like this, especially considering that most Ts would not WANT to go to an event like this with a client. I can tell you with certainty that I would not want to go to this kind of an event with any of my students. If I ever ran into a student at this kind of an event, I would leave the event. I would never feel comfortable sharing, relaxing, or being emotionally/physically/spiritually intimate with a student present. It would completely ruin the experience for me. When I leave work, I don't want to see my students. I cannot take the "professor" hat off ever, in a student's presence.