Client Self-Disclosure

As a counselor, the clients that come to receive services will generally be experiencing a tough time in in their lives. The intent of a counselor should be to see them through this time and help them overcome the hardship. A majority of the information they share will be not only be expected, but required to stay confidential. Summers (2014), informs her readers that “confidentiality is both an ethical principle and a legal right” (p. 47). Many individuals feel a sense of comfort knowing that the information they share with counselors will remain between them. Without this, many clients would potentially not feel comfortable enough to share some of the intense personal feelings or experiences they are dealing with.

Trust is an essential factor in the helping process. Without it, clients will not feel free to share their most intimate thoughts and feelings. They will not be completely honest or forthcoming in conversations which will hinder the professional’s ability to truly help the client. For this reason, the promise of confidentiality becomes critical to the process. It is the “secret keeping duty” all helping professionals have an ethical obligation to observe (Younggren & Harris, p.589). It protects the client’s right to privacy and fosters an atmosphere in which one feels safe, facilitating trust and allowing one to feel comfortable enough to share their inner most feelings and thoughts. Most helping professionals agree that

when counseling clients. In multiple setting, worksheets and discussions centered on the clients feelings of shame and how vulnerable/open they were willing to be with others. The processes I observed in-group helped clients relate to one another and gain comfort from knowing that others have the same struggles/thoughts.

“In group psychotherapies, the therapist may fail to obtain fully informed consent, or may inadequately explain that confidentiality cannot be guaranteed in a group setting. The group therapist may not have the skills to differentiate between helpful and harmful feedback from the group, may lack the knowledge to understand when premature disclosures can be harmful to a group member, or might misunderstand how groups form norms that can be either healthy or unhealthy. Family therapists are faced with problems of agency,

This paper begins with a general idea of self-disclosure by therapists and the importance of keeping the client’s needs first. It covers many aspects of self-disclosure including ethically what to look for in the motives of using self-disclosure with a client. There are other aspects of self-disclosure which include transference and countertransference which are issues which need to be attended to immediately for the therapist to remain objective and not react to a client. Therapists must be cautious in disclosing information and make sure it is relevant to treatment. Beneficence and nonmaleficence are important things to consider when self-disclosing and the therapist must be educated, well trained, and have experience before considering self-disclosure. Also included in this paper are different orientations in relation to self-disclosure. Those orientations include Adlerian therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, feminist therapy, and relational therapy. Although these are only a few orientations,

The realizations I have on self disclosure is that, it is one way of letting my self go. Letting another human being know my inner most feelings and my fears. I am a very private person and I tend to not say much about myself unless I know the person very well. I tend to not to like people who disclose a lot of information to me mainly if we do not have a very close relationship, because to me that means I also have to let them in on some of my inner most feelings. I feel like even if they are a lot of advantages to self-

How Therapist Self-Disclosure And Non-Disclosure Affects Clients”, stated that, “The study results suggest that therapist self‐disclosure has both positive and negative treatment implications.” It depends on how therapeutic the self-disclosure would benefit the client in that given situation, and the client’s receptiveness to what information is given to them; for example, one patient may respond positively to a therapist’s self –disclosure that reveals another safe point of view of an issue, while another patient might feel that therapist’s has over stepped their boundaries. Madill et al. stated that, “These were sometimes attributed to inexperience and sometimes the characteristics of the total situation, such as events from the therapist's personal life” (13). There are times when sharing something from the therapist can help explain an issue that is present during the time of that therapy appointment. Another problem with a therapist’s self-disclosure is that after years of treatment, the therapist can run out of examples to use to clarify a point made during the appointment. Years and years of treatment sometimes cover issues where the therapist, will add something about himself or herself. People who tend to talk for a very long time during therapy can relate on a level that is not crossing the boundaries. In addition, self –disclosure may be a major problem for therapists who live and work in rural communities, because

Both the ACA (2005) and AACC (2004) code of ethics require the counselor to maintain client confidentiality to the fullest extent. Working in the counseling field, trust is a rock in the foundational of a helping relationship and confidentially plays a large role in the client counselor relationship. Both codes share similarities regarding their stance on confidentiality. When counseling others, a counselor is to inform their clients about their commitment to confidentiality as well as their limits before

Goldfried, M.R., Burckell, L.A., & Eubanks-Carter, C. (2003). Therapist self-disclosure in cognitive-behavior therapy. Journal of Clinical Psychology, Special Issue: In Session, 59(5), 555-568.

Corey et al. (2015), conveyed that a good counselor and customer association results from assurance. They further voiced, “Confidentiality is considered an ethical and legal duty imposed on therapists to protect clients” (p. 165). As a member of a faith community, I would prefer to have the choice to disclose my personal business or not. Sometimes the client may only desire to disclose it to certain individuals or the entire church. They could feel embarrassed having to obtain outside assistance. Notwithstanding, one cannot assume that everyone in the church have pure intentions and may use this information against the

Feltham and Horton 2006 recognise that many self-help groups work on the principle of group self-disclosure to encourage and challenge clients. They state that these self-help groups may work as it is a peer experience. In one-to-one counselling, it is important to acknowledge that the counsellor is not a peer. And self-disclosure must be used skilfully.

Some forms of self-disclosure are unavoidable. When a client walks into a therapy room they learn a great deal about their therapist. They will instantly see their therapist’s gender, approximate age, race, body type and style of dress (Peterson, 2002). In addition, information about credentials, where they were

Disclosure vs Anonymity can be a real struggle for some people. Disclosing something deep down inside of them that they never told a soul can be hard. It is also a struggle for the counselor to get that person to disclose that part of them. There may also fear rejection, judgment, or breach of confidentiality from the others in the group. It will be a tough job for the counselor, however if the counselor takes the time to sit down with that person and ask them what are their fears? What is holding them back from disclosing that part of them? Etc. I believe the counselor will be able to get a better understanding of what is going on with that person and he/she may feel comfortable talking about it. Authenticity vs Guardedness is my favorite

In the grief support group I co-lead with a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) and supervised by a Master of Social Work I learned how to facilitate a meeting. The LPCC taught me the person-centered approach and the social worker taught me to monitor client’s progression of goals. She allowed me to take lead, to link members together by similarities they share, and to give members homework. The LPCC believed in self-disclosure, she demonstrated this for me in a fantastic manner the social worker I was with did as well. Teaching me that it is great to self-disclose when appropriate and when it will benefit the progression of the group or for them to feel comfortable trusting the leader. In my group sessions I did not deem self-disclosure appropriate to use. How I will translate this is to be aware of my clients, to ask them what goals they hope to achieve, and for them to keep journals of progress. I will create a safe atmosphere for clients to speak, provide affirmation, and help clients set and maintain goals.

I think Self Disclosure is a slippery slope because if we let to much about ourselves we can experience a role reversal and if we do not disclose enough we may loose the client. I do think that drawing this line is difficult because as counselors we know the importance of connecting with the client and a shared personal experience is like creating an instant connection with another person. Our experiences give us the ability to empathize more deeply then just trying to put ourselves in someone else situation. I think I would have the most problem with self disclosure because I tend to be very open about my life, and things I have gone through I do not shy from sharing a personal experience. I like to help and