UNDERSTANDING THERAPIST SELF-DISCLOSURE AND WHY IT CAN BE GOOD PRACTICE

The practice of therapist self-disclosure helps build trust and humanises the therapist

- MALIKA NOOR MEHTA

Before I take on a client, I always do an 'introductory' phone call with them in order to gauge why they are seeking therapy, and to provide them an opportunity to ask me questions about my therapy practice, approach and qualifications. During such calls, clients almost always ask me about myself and often, my values. For instance, I have been asked, "Do you consider yourself a queer affirmative therapist?" (the answer is most definitely 'yes'). Another question I enjoyed answering was, "Do you believe in a feminist approach to therapy?" (again, absolutely 'yes'). These questions are important and begin to explore the essence of who I am as a human being, inside and outside of the therapy space. Evidently, the potential client is not only assessing whether I have the academic and experiential qualifications to conduct therapy, but also ascertain whether my core values, my social frameworks, and my basic lived experiences match their own. Ultimately, these questions demand that I, the therapist, engage in what is called therapist self-disclosure.

Therapist self-disclosure occurs when the therapist intentionally shares or expresses information about themselves with the client during a therapy session, or during an interaction in which the roles of the individuals, as therapist and client, are implicit (such as my introductory calls). Therapist self-disclosure is a purposeful therapeutic intervention that was developed through a humanistic approach to therapy. Therapists who follow this approach, one that is more client-centered, believe that a therapist can model openness, honesty and vulnerability for their clients by occasionally and carefully disclosing certain aspects of themselves to the clients.