This is why it's not a good idea to be referred to a T by one's friend. In this scenario it would have been better to ask the GP for a referral or refer oneself to a different counselling centre.

There is all kinds of potential here for the client to be hurt. They might have some transference or other kinds of strong feelings that would be brought up in therapy. They might have a fight with their friend and need to talk about it in therapy. Or many other problems.

Really, if the friend is a T, they should have known better than to refer their friend to someone who they know both personally and professionally, and them to start dating the person. I agree that it's unprofessional and they should be trained to know better than this.

If I found myself in the situation, I would start looking around for a new T straight away, one from a different place. And if I found it too hard to leave the first T straight away then I would start working with the second T who might be able to help to clarify the situation and make the transition.