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"&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;People often develop a close relationship with their &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/what-is-a-therapist-2672019&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;&amp;gt;therapist&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;. You&amp;amp;#39;ve been sitting in a room talking about very personal subjects, usually fairly often over quite some time. Does this make you friends? Some people certainly expect that it does, but the therapist probably does not see it that way.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;The Therapist-Client Relationship&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/what-is-psychotherapy-2795754&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;2&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Psychotherapy&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; is by necessity an imbalanced relationship. You, the client, open up and the therapist generally doesn&amp;amp;#39;t. This is necessary in order to focus on your problems exclusively. How can trust develop in such a one-sided relationship? Since the therapist doesn&amp;amp;#39;t reveal nearly as much, you will hopefully come to view the therapist as a safe, caring listener who is devoted to helping you figure out &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;your&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt; problems, not the therapist&amp;amp;#39;s.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Friendship, on the other hand, is inherently two-sided. In most relationships, we open up gradually as the other person also opens up. As your friend, I know many things about you, and you know many things about me. We usually have shared experiences beyond sitting in a room, talking.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Therapy can certainly be a &amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;friendly&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt; relationship, depending on the personalities involved and on the therapist&amp;amp;#39;s theoretical orientation. Historically, certain &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/what-is-psychoanalytic-therapy-2795467&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;3&amp;quot;&amp;gt;psychoanalytically oriented&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; psychotherapists took pains to not reveal any aspect of themselves to their patients, believing that this would unhelpfully influence the patient&amp;amp;#39;s reactions, also known as &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/transference-focused-therapy-borderline-personality-425467&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;4&amp;quot;&amp;gt;transference&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, to the therapist. Most contemporary &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/what-is-psychoanalytic-therapy-2795467&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;5&amp;quot;&amp;gt;psychoanalysts&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; and therapists, however, recognize that they are always revealing aspects of themselves, and that a goal of the therapist is not to hide their personality, but to foster the kind of relationship that allows for the fullest discussion and exploration of all the reactions that take place between the therapist and patient.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;Why Your Therapist Can&amp;amp;#39;t Be Your Friend&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Your therapist probably won&amp;amp;#39;t be your friend because that would create what&amp;amp;#39;s called a &amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;dual relationship&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;. Dual relationships occur when people are in two very different types of relationships at the same time. Most dual relationships are unethical in therapy. For example, it is unethical for a therapist to treat a close friend or relative. It is also unethical for a therapist to have a sexual relationship with a client.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;One of the difficulties with dual relationships is that a problem in one relationship, such as a friendship or a sexual relationship, can then cause problems in the &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/what-is-a-therapeutic-relationship-22395&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;6&amp;quot;&amp;gt;therapy relationship&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;. If you are mad at me because I didn&amp;amp;#39;t attend your party, it will be hard for you to open up in therapy. In addition to being a dual relationship, sexual relationships with clients exploit the power inherent in the one-sided nature of the therapy relationship. Such relationships are unethical on several grounds.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;Can My Therapist Be My Friend When I&amp;amp;#39;ve Finished Therapy?&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;While not common, a friendship can develop when you&amp;amp;#39;ve finished therapy. However, ethical guidelines frown on this for various reasons, including the idea that the &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/transference-2671660&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;transference aspects&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; of the relationship, and the power imbalance established in therapy, never fully disappear.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;If you are currently in therapy, expect your therapist to be someone who is easy to talk to. If he or she is friendly, this may be an added bonus. But remember that therapy is not the same as a friendship. By taking advantage of the personal and professional relationship that develops in therapy, you will be better able to make the changes that you want to make in your life.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<https://www.verywell.com/why-your-therapist-is-not-your-friend-2330691>