Understanding therapist self-disclosure and why it can be good practice
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. The aim of such therapist self-disclosure is to help the client build trust in the therapist, humanise the therapist, and help the client witness what it is like to share thoughts, emotions and experiences in the therapeutic space. As a client, it is important to understand that a therapist might use self-disclosure to help them view or understand an issue they are facing in a different way. These are the basic gut-checks that could help you, as a client, ascertain whether your therapist’s self-disclosure was purposeful. The purpose of this approach is to allow the client to project onto the therapist’s blank slate the cognitions and emotions that they are experiencing outside the therapy space.
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