Marquette University

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College of Education Faculty Research and Education, College of

Publications

2002

Self-Disclosure
Clara E. Hill
University of Maryland - College Park

Sarah Knox
Marquette University, [email protected]

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Recommended Citation
Hill, Clara E. and Knox, Sarah, "Self-Disclosure" (2002). College of Education Faculty Research and
Publications. 168.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/edu_fac/168
 13

Self-Disclosure

Clara E. Hill
Sarah Knox

Self-disclosure is one of the most controversial ings," such as "When I'm not seeing clients, 1 like
therapist interventions, with some theorists en- to fish." They defined immediacy as "immediate
thusiastically promoting it and others adamantly feelings about self in relation to the client, about
opposing its use in therapy. The purpose of this the client, or about the therapeutic relationship"
chapter is to review the empirical evidence about (p. 369), for example, ''I'm feeling anxious right
the effectiveness of therapist self-disclosure in in- now with you."
dividual therapy and propose guidelines for using Hill and O'Brien (1999) further recommended
it in practice. But first, we define therapist self- subdiViding therapist self-disclosure into four sub-
disclosure and discuss the theoretical positions types: disclosures of facts ("I got my degree from
about its use. Southern Illinois University"), disclosures of feel-
ings ("When 1 have been in that situation, r felt
angry"), disclosures of insights ("When I was in a
DEFINITION similar situation adjusting to college, r realized
that what made it so difficult was that 1 felt guilty
We define therapist self-disclosure as therapist leaVing my mother all by herself'), or disclosures
statements that reveal something personal about of strategies ("When 1 was in that situation, r
the therapist. Note that this definition excludes forced myself to brush my teeth as soon as r fin-
disclosures that are nonverbal (that is, based on ished lunch"). TherapiSts likely use each subtype
observations of dress, office decor, and surround- for a different intention in the therapy process,
ings) because these nonverbal disclosures are not and each probably also has a different outcome.
voiced or offered discretely at one point in time Another distinction in the literature is be-
and hence are qualitatively different from verbal tween positive or negative disclosures. This dis-
disclosures. Most of the literature about therapist tinction has sometimes referred to positive or
self-disclosure leaves the definition at this broad, negative experiences or personal characteristics of
inclusive level, although some have defined self- the therapist (e.g., Hoffman-Graff, 1977) and at
disclosure more narrowly. For example, McCarthy other times has referred to the therapist's positive
and Betz (1978) distinguished between self-disclos- or negative feelings or reactions to the client
ing disclosures (henceforth called just self-disclo- (Andersen & Anderson, 1985; Remer, Roff'ey, &
sures) and self-involving disclosures (which have Buckholtz, 1983; Reynolds & Fischer, 1983).
also been called immediacy). Similarly, Hill and Hill, Mahalik, and Thompson (I 989) argued that
O 'Brien (1999, p. 369) defined self-disclosure as the positive/negative dimension was too value-
a statement that "reveals something personal about laden and suggested instead a reassuring/challeng-
the helper's nonimmediate experiences or feel- ing dimension to capture the intent behind the

255
256 PROMISING ELEMENTS

positive/negative distinction. For Hill and col- sonal life, thoughts, and feelings, and a client's
leagues (1989), reassuring disclosures support, capacity to develop transference to the therapist
reinforce, or legitimize the client's perspective, (Freud, 1958). Psychoanalysts generally acknowl-
way of thinking, feeling, or behaving; whereas edge, however, that total anonymity on the part
challenging disclosures challenge the client's per- of therapists is impossible. Nevertheless, many as-
spective, way of thinking, feeling, or behaving. sert that therapiSts should strive for relative ano-
Furthermore, self-disclosures can be catego- nymity, confining self-disclosure to information
rized in terms of whether or not the disclosure is implicit in the therapy setting, such as revelations
reciprocal, that is, in response to a similar client inherent in therapists ' offices and appearances
disclosure (Barrett & Berman, in press). Finally, (Lane & Hull, 1990).
from the literature on client self-disclosure (see Many psychodynamic therapists, though clearly
Cozby, 1973), we know that disclosures can be rooted in the psychoanalytic tradition, have tem-
evaluated in terms of the breadth or amount of pered their view of therapist self-disclosure. For
information disclosed, the depth or level of inti- example, Lane and Hull (1990) stated that clients
macy of information disclosed, and the duration may become more aware of the effects of their
or time spent in disclosure. behaviors on others when therapiSts disclose their
Therapist self-disclosure, then, has been de- reactions to clients. Likewise, Goldstein (1997)
fined variously in the literature, but one theme and Palombo (1987) argued that thoughtful use
that unites these definitions is that therapist self- of therapist self-disclosure can reinforce the em-
disclosure involves a therapist's personal self-reve- pathic attunement and responsiveness necessary
latory statement. Hence, unless otherwise speci- for successful engagement and treatment of some
fied, the reader should assume that we are using clients.
this broad definition of self-disclosure in this
chapter.

Humanistic Theories

THEORETICAL POSITIONS ON Humanistic theorists more openly embrace thera-

THERAPIST SELF-DISCLOSURE pist self-disclosure, asserting that such interven-
tions demonstrate therapists' genuineness and posi-
tive regard for clients (Robitschek & McCarthy,
PsychoanalyticlPsychodynamic Theories
1991) and demystify the therapeutic process (Kas-
Although Freud is reputed to have used self- low, Cooper, & Linsenberg, 1979). Proponents of
disclosure with his patients, including showing this approach advocate therapist authenticity, real-
them pictures of himself and discussing personal ness, and mutuality (Goldstein, 1997), regarding
activities and interests (Cornett, 1991), his writ- these as necessary prerequisites for client openness,
ings warn other analysts against such practices. trust, intimacy, gains in self-understanding, and
Following Freud's directives, psychoanalytic ther- change (Rogers, 1951; Truax & Carkhuff, ]967).
apiSts have been trained to be neutral, anony- Therapist transparency is believed to make the
mous, abstinent, and non-self-disclosing in ther- therapist more humane, to bind therapist and cli-
apy. Such a neutral approach is deemed necessary ent together, to enable therapists to serve as mod-
for uncovering, interpreting, and resolving client els of personal growth for clients (Lane & Hull,
transference, which psychoanalysts assert must 1990), and to equalize the control over the ther-
remain unhampered by information about the apy relationship while simultaneously correcting
therapist as a real person (Goldstein, 1997). As client transference misconceptions (Jourard, ] 971).
Jackson stated, "The point of the therapist's re- In addition, therapist self-disclosure is believed to
vealing little ... is so that the patient may reveal help clients feel less alone with their painful ex-
more" (1990, p. 94). In fact, psychoanalytic ther- periences and emotions, thereby confirming the
apists have asserted an inverse relationship be- essential humanness and universality of clients'
tween a client's knowledge of a therapist's per- experiences (Cornett, 1991).
 SELF-DISCLOSURE 257

"Before I open up to you, I want to know where

Behavioral/Cognitive/
you are coming from" is nevertheless difficult for
Cognitive-Behavioral Theories
therapists because of the implied demand for self-
It is likely that therapists with behavioral and disclosure, an intervention many are still trained
cognitive orientations would view therapist self- to avoid. Some clients, however, may not open
disclosures positively, especially when these in- up until the therapist first discloses.
terventions are intended to serve as a model for
client self-disclosure. We found nothing in the lit-
erature, however, that describes how therapist CLINICAL EXAMPLES
self-disclosure is viewed by these orientations.
The follOWing two clinical examples are taken
from a qualitative study (Knox, Hess, Petersen, &
Feminist Theories
Hill, 1997) in which clients were interviewed
Feminist therapists have supported the appro- about their experiences of therapist self-disclo-
priate use of therapist self-disclosure (Mahalik, sure and its effects. These examples were selected
VanOrmer, & Simi, 2000), belieVing that this in- because they were clear illustrations of therapist
tervention can serve several therapeutic goals. self-disclosure (as opposed to immediacy) and be-
Therapist self-disclosure may, for example, serve cause they had a positive impact on the clients.
as a vehicle for transmitting feminist values, "Ann," a 35-year-old White woman who sought
equalize power in the therapy relationship, facili- therapy for depression and an eating disorder, had
tate client growth, foster a sense of solidarity be- been in therapy with "Dr. S," a 45-year-old White
tween therapist and client, help clients view their male therapist, for almost 7 years. A helpful self-
own situations with less shame, encourage clients' disclosure that Ann vividly remembered was
feelings of liberation, and acknowledge the im- when Dr. S revealed that he spent his childhood
portance of the real relationship between thera- summers at the beach. This disclosure made Ann
pist and client. In addition, feminist therapists be- feel that Dr. S could understand her because she,
lieve that therapist revelation can enable clients too, had spent summers at the shore. She also
to make informed decisions about whether or not viewed Dr. S's disclosure as evidence that he
they choose to work with a therapist. For clients trusted her, which increased Ann's self-esteem,
to make such deciSions, appropriate content for comfort, and sense of importance. As a result of
therapist self-disclosure includes therapists' be- the ensuing discussions of days spent at the shore,
liefs and lifestyle, religious and class background, Ann was able to recall the good times of her
sexual orientation, political views, and feelings childhood and see her parents as not entirely evil,
toward clients. but as ill. This realization allowed Ann to forgive
her parents before they died and also helped her
feel less gUilty about her own children. Further-
Multicultural Theories
more, the disclosure equalized the therapy rela-
Multicultural theories, which are now considered tionship and enabled Ann to see Dr. S as a real
the fourth force in psychotherapy, also advocate person. Ann credited Dr. S's disclosure with hav-
using self-disclosure, particularly with clients ing allowed her to feel more comfortable and
from different sociocultural backgrounds and al- open with him and with fostering her trust in
ternative lifestyles (Goldstein, 1994; Jenkins, 1990; him.
Sue & Sue, 1999). Because mental health services "Susan," a 44-year-old White woman with dis-
often occur within a biased historical and social sociative identity disorder, had been seeing "Dr.
context (Jenkins, 1990), therapiSts working with A," a 58-year-old White male therapist, for al-
clients who are culturally different from them- most four years. She described their early rela-
selves may need to self-disclose to prove them- tionship as uncomfortable and distrusting, "rocky"
selves worthy of trust (Sue & Sue, 1999). The enough that she used his comments and reactions
client stance of "Prove that you can be trusted" or as reasons to consider leaving therapy. Dr. A's
258 PROMISING ELEMENTS

consistency and persistence, however, allowed lander, 1987; Simonson, 1976; Simonson & Bahr,
Susan to feel more safe and open to revealing her 1974; Vande Creek & Angstadt, 1985; Watkins &
feelings, and so she stayed in therapy. Susan, who Schneider, 1989; Wetzel & Wright-Buckley, 1988),
was interested in AIDS research, brought in a three reported negative perceptions (Carter &
song about a young man dying of AIDS and gave Motta, 1988; Cherbosque, 1987; Curtis, 1982),
it to Dr. A. When Dr. A returned the tape, he and one reported mixed findings (Goodyear &
disclosed that one of his family members had died Shumate, 1996). Of seven studies investigating
of AIDS. Susan was initially surprised by the per- therapist self-involving statements in individual
sonal nature of his disclosure and then felt sym- therapy, six reported positive perceptions (An-
pathy for Dr. A. She said that this disclosure en- dersen & Anderson, 1985; Dowd & Boroto, 1982;
abled her to be more open, more present, and less McCarthy & Betz, 1978; Remer, Roffey, & Buck-
protective in therapy. She viewed the disclosure holtz, 1983; Reynolds & Fischer, 1983; Wat-
as a gift, which made her feel safer, closer, and kins & Schneider, 1989), whereas one reported
special that someone like Dr. A would share such negative perceptions (Cherbosque, 1987).
a personal and emotional experience with her. In his review of this analogue literature on
The disclosure validated her feelings about the therapist self-disclosure, Watkins (1990) concluded
trauma of loss, which she could connect to recent that therapists who self-disclosed in a moderate
losses in her own family. Dr. A's disclosure also or nonintimate way have been viewed more fa-
changed how Susan saw him: It made him easier vorably and elicited more client self-disclosure
for her to talk to, equalized their relationship, than therapists who did not disclose at all, who
and helped her feel better outside of therapy. disclosed a lot, or who disclosed personal and in-
timate material. This analogue research provides
some useful information, suggesting that thera-
RESEARCH REVIEW pist self-disclosure is experienced positively by
nonclients who read it, listened to it, or observed
it. Because of their analogue deSign, however, the
Perceptions of Therapist
findings may not be generalizable to real clients
Self-Disclosure by Nonclients
in real therapy relationships. Only one of the ana-
The existing research on how therapist self-dis- logue studies, for example, investigated the ef-
closure is experienced has been primarily ana- fects of therapist self-disclosure with current
logue in design (that is, involving simulations of therapy clients rather than nonclients (Curtis,
therapy rather than actual therapy)' Subjects 1982). Similarly, we are limited in our under-
(usually undergraduate psychology students par- standing of how these results may apply to non-
ticipating for course credit) are typically pre- majority populations, for only Cherbosque (1987)
sented with a stimulus of a disclosure embedded specifically targeted such participants.
in a written transcript, audiotape, or videotape of
a hypothetical therapy session. After reading, lis-
Frequency of Therapist Self-Disclosure
tening to, or watching the stimulus, participants
in Psychotherapy
rate their perceptions of the disclosure and/or of
the therapist. According to a number of different sources Qudges,
Generally, these studies have shown that non- clients, and therapiSts), therapist self-disclosure is
clients perceived both therapist self-disclosing a low-frequency intervention in therapy. For ex-
and self-involVing disclosures favorably. Of }8 ample, across several studies where judges coded
studies of therapist self-disclosure in individual therapist behavior in transcripts of therapy ses-
therapy, 14 reported positive perceptions of ther- sions, I to 13% (With an average of 3.5% across
apist self-disclosure (Bundza & Simonson, 1973; studies) of all therapist interventions in individuaJ
Doster & Brooks, 1974; Dowd & Boroto, 1982; therapy were self-disclosures (Barkham & Sha-
Feigenbaum, 1977; Fox, Strum, & Walters, 1984; piro, 1986; Elliott et aI., 1987; Hill, 1978; Hill,
Hoffman-Graff, 1977; Myrick, 1969; Nilsson, Thames, & Rardin, 1979; Hill et aI., 1988; Stiles,
Strassberg, & Bannon, 1979; Peca-Baker & Fried- Shapiro, & Firth-Cozens, 1988). In a study con-
 SELF-DISCLOSURE 259

ducted by Ramsdell and Ramsdell (1993) of for- dock, 1994; Geller & Farber, 1997; Simon,
mer clients (surveyed up to 14 years after therapy 1990), therapists indicated that they most often
ended) who had been seen at least six times by disclosed to increase perceived similarity between
therapists from a wide variety of orientations, themselves and their clients, to model appro-
58% said that their therapist had self-disclosed at priate behavior for clients, to foster the therapeu-
least once. SpeCifically, 9% said their therapist tic alliance, to validate reality or normalize client
had disclosed once, 34% indicated 3-4 times, 9% experiences, to offer alternative ways to think and
indicated 4-9 times, and 6% said their therapist act, and because clients wanted therapist disclo-
had disclosed 10 or more times. Given that Rams- sure. Similarly, when clients were asked why they
dell and Ramsdell assessed clients' memories of thought their therapists disclosed, they indicated
how much therapiSts had disclosed rather than that they believed therapiSts disclosed to normal-
having judges code disclosure behavior in ses- ize their experiences, reassure them, and help
sions, this study probably captured more of cli- them make constructive changes (Knox et al.,
ents' perceptions of memorable self-disclosures or 1997). Hence, there is some overlap between
their overall sense of the therapists' disclosing therapist and client perceptions of why therapiSts
style. Finally, in a survey of therapists from a wide disclose (to normalize experiences, reassure cli-
range of orientations (Edwards & Murdock, 1994), ents, and help clients change).
therapists reported that they generally disclosed a Therapists indicated on surveys that they gen-
moderate amount (3 on a 5-point scale), with erally avoided self-disclosure when the disclosure
only 6% indicating that they never disclosed. would fulfil their own needs, move the focus
A few studies have examined how often differ- from the client to the therapist, interfere with the
ent types of therapist self-disclosures have been client's flow of material, burden or confuse the
used. Therapists reported that they disclosed client, be intrusive for the client, blur the bound-
most often about their professional background aries between the therapist and client, overstimu-
(e.g., therapy style and training) and rarely about late the client, or contaminate the transference
sexual practices and beliefs (Edwards & Murdock, (Edwards & Murdock, 1994; Geller & Farber,
1994; Geller & Farber, 1997; Robitschek & Mc- 1997; Simon, 1990) . These results suggest that
Carthy, 1991). Clients reported more helpful therapists are very aware about possible negative
than unhelpful therapist disclosures in a study of consequences on outcome of disclOSing in therapy.
individual therapy (Knox et a1., 1997).
Furthermore, humanistic/experiential thera-
The Effects of Therapist
pists reported disclOSing more often than did psy-
Self-Disclosure
choanalytiC therapists (Edwards & Murdock, 1994;
Simon, 1990) and were also judged by experi- The effects of therapist self-disclosure have been
enced clinical psychologist raters as having a more investigated both in terms of immediate outcome
disclosing style than analytic therapiSts (Beutler & in the session (for example, what happens in the
Mitchell, 1981), which fits with their stated theo- session right after a therapist self-discloses) and in
retical orientations. No differences in disclosure terms of distal outcome (for example, changes
were reported, however, between male and fe- after treatment).
male therapiSts (Edwards & Murdock, 1994; Ro-
bitschek & McCarthy, 1991), nor among thera-
Immediate Outcome
pists of different racial/ethnic origins (Edwards &
Murdock, 1994). Given that the frequent reasons for using thera-
pist self-disclosures are immediate goals for the
therapy process rather than long-term goals for
Why Do Therapists Disclose?
symptom change, it makes sense to examine im-
On the basis of reviewing videotapes of their ses- mediate rather than ultimate outcome. Indeed,
Sions, therapiSts indicated that they had disclosed the studies (three studies on two data sets) that
to give information and to resolve their own needs have examined the immediate outcome of thera-
(Hill et a1., 1988). In surveys (Edwards & Mur- pist self-disclosures on clients have found positive
260 PROMISING ELEMENTS

effects. Hill and colleagues (1988) found that cli- definitions of and ways of assessing self-disclosure
ents gave the highest ratings of helpfulness and in these studies were vague and inconsistent.
had the highest subsequent experiencing levels In contrast to the previous neutral or negative
(such as involvement with their feelings) in re- results, two other studies using other methodolo-
sponse to therapist self-disclosures. In contrast, gies found positive effects of therapist self-disclo-
therapists gave the lowest ratings of helpfulness sure on treatment outcome. A survey of former
to self-disclosures, which Hill and colleagues clients who had received at least six sessions of
speculated may have been because disclosures treatment found that clients rated therapists'
made therapists feel vulnerable. In a further anal- sharing personal information as having a benefi-
ysis of the same data, Hill, Mahalik, and Thomp- cial effect on therapy (Ramsdell & Ramsdell,
son (1989) found that reassuring disclosures were 1993). Another study found that clients who re-
viewed as more helpful than challenging disclo- ceived more reciprocal therapist self-disclosures
sures in terms of both client and therapist help- (that is, self-disclosures in response to similar cli-
fulness ratings and subsequent client experiencing ent self-disclosures) liked their therapists more
levels. and had less symptom distress after treatment, al-
In a qualitative study of helpful therapist self- though they did not increase in the number or
disclosures (Knox et aI., 1997), clients noted sev- intimacy of their own self-disclosures (Barrett &
eral major impacts of helpful therapist self-disclo- Berman, 2001).
sures (not including irrunediacy statements). Knox The Barrett and Berman study involved an
and colleagues (I997) noted that therapist self- experimental manipulation such that graduate-
disclosures led to client insight and made the student therapists increased the number of recip-
therapist seem more real and human. Feeling that rocal self-disclosures in brief therapy with one cli-
the therapist was more real and human in turn ent and refrained from using them with another
improved the therapeutic relationship and helped client. Importantly, therapiSts gave only about
clients feel reassured and normal. The improved five disclosures per session in the high-disclosure
therapeutic relationship and feeling reassured and condition, suggesting that disclosures were still
normal in turn made clients feel better and served infrequent.
as a model for positive changes and for being
open and honest in therapy. It is interesting to
note here that the effects of therapist self-disclo-
Summary of Empirical Research
sure were part of a complicated sequence of
events combining both immediate and distal out- So what do we know) A summary of the ana-
come. logue literature suggests that nonclients generally
have positive perceptions of therapist self-disclo-
sure. They liked therapists who moderately dis-
Treatment (Distal) Outcome
closed personal infonnation about themselves. A
The results of studies of the effects of therapist summary of the literature about actual therapy
self-disclosure on ultimate outcome have been indicates that humanistic/experiential therapiSts
mixed. Of studies using a correlational method, disclosed more than psychoanalytic therapiSts,
no relationship was found between the frequency therapiSts disclosed infrequently in therapy, and
of therapist self-disclosures and client, therapist, therapiSts disclosed mostly about profeSSional
andlor observer judgments of treatment outcome background and rarely about sexual practices and
in six studies (Beutler & Mitchell, 1981; Braswell, beliefs. Furthermore, in actual therapy, disclo-
Kendall, Braith, Carey, & Vye, 1985; Coady, sures were perceived as helpful rather than un-
1991; Hill et aI., 1988; Kushner, Bordin, & Ryan, helpful in terms of immediate outcome, although
1979; Williams & Chambless, 1990), and a nega- the effects on the ultimate outcome of therapy
tive relationship was found between frequency of remain unclear. Finally, therapists had many ther-
therapist self-disclosure and therapists' ratings of apeutic reasons for disclosing (to give informa-
client improvement in another study (Braswell et tion, to normalize client's experiences), as well
aI., 1985) . We should note, however, that the as several indications of when they would avoid
 SELF-DISCLOSURE 261

disclosing (to meet their own needs, to move the lead to better outcome. It may even be that ther-
focus from cuent to therapist). apist self-disclosure yields its positive effects be-
cause it typically occurs so infrequently. In fact,
therapists may disclose more in particularly diffi-
LIMITATIONS OF cult cases where the client has trouble making a
THE RESEARCH connection with the therapist. Such cases may
have worse outcomes not because of the greater
Although the research evidence on therapist self- number of therapist self-disclosures, but because
disclosure is provocative and interesting, it must of the clients' initial disturbance level. Similarly,
be viewed with caution. Studies have rarely used Stiles, Honos-Webb, and Surko (1998) identified
similar definitions or methods to study self-disclo- a problem in the entire process-outcome litera-
sure, and results have not been replicated across ture that they called "responsiveness." They noted
studies in actual therapy. In what follows, we that therapists give clients what they perceive
briefly identify several problems in hopes of im- they need at a particular time. If therapiSts are
proving future research. indeed responsive to client needs, it is unlikely
that there would be a relationship between thera-
pist self-disclosure and outcome; one client might
Definitional Issues
need one disclosure, whereas another might need
Many different definitions of therapist self-disclo- ten . Hence, frequency is not the right thing to be
sure have been used in the empirical literature, examining; rather, researchers should be examin-
making it difficult to compare results across stud- ing types of disclosures, timing of disclosures,
ies. For example, is "willingness to be known" the quality of disclosures, and client readiness for dis-
same as "revealing something personal about one- closures. Furthermore, it strains the imagination
self? Clearly, a therapist disclosure of a superfi- to think that any single self-disclosure would lead
cial past positive experience in response to a simi- to client change at the end of treatment. Rather,
lar client disclosure (such as, "I also felt anxious it makes sense that self-disclosures influence the
when I took tests in college") would be viewed immediate process, which then indirectly influ-
very differently from a deep therapist disclosure ences treatment outcome.
of immediate feelings in the therapeutic relation-
ship ("I am feeling angry at you right now because
Lack of Theoretical Basis for Research
it feels like you're belittling me"). Hence, we
stress that researchers must clearly define what Another important issue to note is that despite
they mean by therapist self-disclosure. Preferably the rich theoretical literature on therapist self-
researchers should use definitions consistent with disclosure, most of the research has been atheo-
those used by other researchers so that results can retical. Hence, we do not know if therapist self-
be compared across studies. Furthermore, we disclosure contaminates the transference as as-
strongly encourage researchers to differentiate be- serted by psychoanalytic theorists, or whether it
tween self-disclosures and immediacy, and to is particularly appropriate with culturally differ-
differentiate subtypes of disclosures (of facts, of ent clients as asserted by multicultural theorists.
feelings, of insight, and of strategies) given that Given the provocative and Widely divergent
different types of disclosures probably have dif- claims by the different theoretical orientations,
ferent effects on therapy. research is needed to determine to test these
propositions.

Focus on Frequency
Methodology and Analysis
Much of the research investigating the effects of
therapist self-disclosure in actual therapy has cor- The analogue design of many of the studies pre-
related the frequency of self-disclosures with sents limitations because they are not realistic and
treatment outcome. Clearly, there is no compel- have limited applicability to real clients, real ther-
ling reason to believe that more disclosures should apists, and real therapy, where the evolVing con-
262 PROMISING ELEMENTS

text and relationship are crucial. In addition, THERAPEUTIC PRACTICES

most of the participants in the analogue studies
were undergraduates participating for research In crossing the threshold of anonymity, thera-
credit, and these students may differ in meaning- pists may powerfully affect their clients with self-
ful ways from actual therapy clients. Further- disclosures. It is incumbent upon therapiSts, then,
more, the therapist self-disclosure stimulus used to understand the potential impact of their dis-
in these studies was often provided with minimal closures and to use this intervention appropri-
context, instead of emerging out of an ongoing ately. On the basis of the empirical literature, we
interaction between therapist and client. In fact, suggest several practice guidelines (note that
a study that compared therapists' responses to these guidelines are for self-disclosure and not for
filmed clients (an analogue) with their actual be- immediacy) .
havior in intake sessions with real clients found I. Therapists should generally disclose infre·
that therapists did not disclose the same amount quently. A number of studies show that therapists
in the analogue situation as they did in real intake disclose only infrequently. It may be that self-
sessions (Kushner et a1., 1979). disclosure is helpful because it occurs so infre-
In addition, the most typical methods for ana- quently.
lyzing the effects of therapist self-disclosures in 2. The most appropriate topic for therapist self·
ongoing therapy have been the correlational meth- disclosure involves professional background, where·
od mentioned above (in which the frequency of as the least appropriate topics include sexual prac-
therapist self-disclosures is related to session or tices and beliefs. Disclosing about professional
treatment outcome), sequential analyses (in which background seems particularly important so that
the effects of self-disclosure are tested in terms of therapists can inform clients about their creden-
the immediate client behavior), surveys (in which tials and build trust. Such disclosures are also rel-
therapists and clients are asked about their expe- atively benign and not deeply intimate. Disclos-
riences of giving or receiving therapist self-disclo- ing about sexual practices and beliefs, in contrast,
sures), and qualitative methods (in which partici- is not typically necessary for therapy and may be
pants are interviewed and data are coded using much too intimate for the therapeutic setting.
words rather than numbers). Each method for Research has indicated that therapists who dis-
studying self-disclosure has its advantages and dis- closed nonintimate material were viewed more
advantages (see Hill & Lambert, in press), and favorably than those who disclosed intimate ma-
none is ideal for studying therapist self-disclosure. terial.
We suggest that new models need to be built that 3. Therapists should generally use disclosures to
combine sequential analyses of immediate out- validate reality, normalize, model, strengthen the
come with analyses of longer-term outcome, in- alliance, or offer alternative ways to think or act.
corporating mediating variables such as how the These reasons for disclosing appear to be helpful
client thought about and acted upon the disclo- in therapy and to enhance the therapeutic rela-
sures outside of therapy. tionship.
Thus, particular types of disclosures (for ex- 4. Therapists should generally avoid using disclo·
ample, reassuring and reciprocal) done at the op- sures that are for their own needs, remove the focus
timal time in therapy might help to build the from the client, inter/ere with the flow of the session,
therapeutic alliance, which in turn might allow burden or confuse the client, are intrusive, blur the
clients to benefit further from other interventions boundaries between the therapist and client, over·
and feel confident to explore themselves more stimulate the client, or contaminate the transference.
thoroughly and make changes, which in turn may Disclosures used for each of these reasons can
lead them to disclose more to significant others have a deleterious effect on the therapy relation-
outside therapy and receive positive feedback, ship and process. In addition, disclosures used for
which in turn might lead to better treatment out- these reasons may signal that the therapist is
come. This more complicated pathway of influ- struggling with unresolved conflicts, which should
ence needs to be investigated using new method- be addressed in supervision and/or personal ther-
ologies designed specifically for this purpose. apy.
 SELF-DISCLOSURE 263

S. Therapist self-disclosure might be particularly mality on perceptions of credibility in an ini-

effective when it is in response to similar client self- tial interview. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 66,
disclosure. Therapist self-disclosure used in re- 167-173.
sponse to similar cLent self-disclosure may be ef- Cherbosque,1. (1987). Differential effects of coun-
fective because it helps clients feel normal and selor self-disclosure statements on perception
of the counselor and Willingness to disclose: A
reassured.
cross-cultural study. Psychotherapy, 24, 434-
6 . Therapists should observe carefully how clients
437.
respond to their disclosures, ask the clients about Coady, N. F. (1991). The association between
their reactions, and use that information to concep- complex types of therapist interventions and
tualize their clients and decide how to intervene outcomes in psychodynamic psychotherapy.
next. Therapist self-disclosure is a provocative and Research on Social Work Practice, I, 122-138.
potentiaJiy powerful intervention, so therapiSts Cornett, C. (1991). The "risky" intervention: Twin-
need to monitor how clients react to it (how they ship self-object impasses and therapist self-
feel when they hear it, whether it influences their disclosure in psychodynamic psychotherapy.
view of the therapist, and whether it affects the Clinical Social Work Journal, 19, 49-61.
therapy relationship). Cozby, P. C. (1973). Self-disclosure: A literature
review. Psychological Bulletin, 79, 73-91.
7. It may be especially important for therapists
Curtis, J. M. (1982). The effect of therapist self-
to disclose with some clients more than others. Ther-
disclosure on patients' perceptions of em-
apists may need to use self-disclosure in some
pathy, competence and trust in an analogue
cases to build trust, Without therapist self-disclo-
psychotherapeutic interaction. Psychotherapy:
sure, some clients might not persist in therapy, Theory, Research, and Practice, 19, 54-62.
Doster,1. A., & Brooks, S. 1. (1974). Interviewer
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264 PROMISING ELEMENTS

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