Journal Articles Summary: Group Psychotherapy

Upon the first session with a new client, it is detrimental to go through certain expectations regarding confidentiality and privacy. According to the American Counseling Association, “at initiation and throughout the counseling process, counselors must inform clients of the limitations of confidentiality and seek to identify situations in which confidentiality must be breached” (ACA Code of Ethics, 2014). By disclosing expectations and policies held within the institution, allows the client to

Self-disclosure is an important part of any close relationship. Without sharing our own fears and weaknesses, we can

Before a counselling session starts it is important that the client understands confidentiality. To be able to understand this the counsellor must explain to the client that anything they say within the

Remley and Herlihy (2016) defines confidentiality as an ethical concept which refers to the counselor 's obligation to respect the client 's privacy and in session discussion will be protected from disclosure without their consent (p.108). The receptionist never disclosed what was being discussed in wife A session; however, her inadvertent breach of confidentiality occurred the moment she divulged the fact that wife A is a patient at a mental health facility. An important premise to understanding the ethical principle of confidentiality is base that a counselor respects the client 's right to privacy (Remley & Herlihy, 2016; Quigley, 2007). Premise one states the "counselor honor the rights of clients to decide who knows what information about them and in what circumstances" (p.110).

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

A counselor’s primary goal is to have integrity, while also having the client’s well-being as a priority. While competency is the most important factor in professional counseling, a level of trust needs to be met between the client and the counselor. When a client has full confidence that the counselor will maintain confidentiality, the counselor’s integrity has been established and the client can being to open up more to the counselor, establishing better tools for increasing mental health (Sanders, et. al., 2013, p. 263). Sexual identity therapy is also a potential means of.

Privileged communications are defined as “an exchange of information between two individuals in a confidential relationship” (“Privileged communication,” 2008). There are 5 generally accepted types of privileged communications: attorney/client, doctor/patient, psychotherapist/patient, parishioner/clergy and marital. This week’s unit focuses mainly on the psychotherapy/patient relationship. One of the main reasons this privilege exists is to allow a person seeking treatment to be completely honest with the psychotherapist without fear that the information they divulge will be shared with family, friends or the public in general. This allows for the therapist to have as complete a picture as possible of the patient to assist in the development

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.

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

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.

Developing appropriateness of self-disclosure, responding to direct versus indirect questions, giving advice, cultural response to getting help

In professional relationships, people are not expected to reveal the personal self. Health professionals, however, always disclose something about themselves (the personal matters) to their patients. According to Lussier and Richard (2007) before deciding whether to reveal something about themselves, health professionals must know their patients well. Otherwise, there is a possibility to interpret the therapist’s action incorrectly by the patient. In this extract, therapist discloses himself after identified (here was found a religious sign in patient forehead) and confirm (went to the temple?) the patient as a believer of Hindu god. In literature, there were discussion around the advantages and disadvantages to self-disclosure in professional relationships (). But in this case it is clearly identified that self-disclosure was helpful in forming the better bond with the

In the world of psychology therapist raise a question whether or not they should “disclose personal information during psychotherapy. Several therapists “have suggested that therapist self-discloser can have a positive impact on treatment. From this view, self-discloser by the therapists may elicit greater discloser by the client enhancing the possibilities for client self-exploration”(e.g., Bugental, 1965, chap. 7; Jourad, 1971, chap. 17; Strassberg, Roback, D’Antonio & Gable, 1977). In addition, “self-discloser is thought to encourage an atmosphere of honesty and understanding between client and therapist, fostering a stronger and more

Feminist therapists purposefully self-disclose their opinions and feelings about such emotionally and politically divisive issues as sexual orientation and nonmonogamous relationships so that clients can decide whether the psychologist will provide unprejudiced support if these issues arise.