What Is Self-Disclosure?

Andrew Clark’s own self-disclosure leads to the reciprocity of self-disclosure, in which other students begin to open up about themselves to each other. In order

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

Yalom & Leszcz states “Therapist help clients confirm or disconfirm their impressions of the therapists by gradually revealing more of themselves. The client is pressed to deal with the therapist as a real person in the here-and-now (2005, pg. 214). This is where self-awareness comes into play because as a group leader or therapist there are boundaries you should not cross ethical and morally for the sake of the therapeutic process. When considering how much to self-disclose or when is a right time to self-disclose. The reading expressed “ask yourself where the group is now. Is it a concealed, overly cautious group that may profit from a leader who models personal self-disclosure? Or has it already established vigorous self-disclosure norms and is in need of other kids of assistance? (Yalom & Leszcz, 2005, pg.

I never gave much thought into what it takes to shoot, direct, edit, and complete a motion picture. Sure, it may sound fun, but after this assignment, it felt like a lot of work. There are quite a few specialized groups that put together the films that we enjoy in our movie theatres. No wonder why it takes months and even years to edit a film, these folks are making sure things are done and synced correctly! The following essay will identify information pertaining to film and importance for their audience so the person or persons watching can have an understanding of what it is they are viewing. A story that has no meaning or becomes very confusing in the details that are presented does not make a good film.

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,

Different societies exist throughout the world and within these societies each society develops culture that works best for them. Within these cultures they pass all their acquired knowledge and traditions down from generation to generation. Nevertheless, each culture has their own way of life, own marriage beliefs, their own values and feelings on life and religious beliefs. Cultures tend to have their own way to run their government, and ways to keep their economy up to their standards. Most importantly in cultural anthropology it is imperative to value culture relativism. This is the view in which no culture is superior to other

To disclose or not to disclose?, That question usually comes when you start a new relationship with a friend, a boy friend, a new job or any new relationship, but disclosing can also happen with people we have known for a long time or not. Scholars define self-disclosure as sharing information with others that they would not normally know or discover, but I feel like each person has his or her own way of defining what self closure is. To me, self disclosure is letting myself go and trusting the person I am disclosing to, it involves risk and vulnerability on my part sharing important information to someone. Therefore I go back to the question I posed before, do I trust this person or not, do I love this person to feel my vulnerability, do

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

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.

Through Social Penetration theory, Taylor and I started out as strangers which lated turned in becoming my best friend. Taylor and I’s relationship developed through the depth and breadth of self-disclosure. The four observations of breadth and depth are peripheral, self-disclosure, penetration and depenetration. The first observation is peripheral items are exchanged sooner and more frequently than private information. As Taylor and I first started to to develop our friendship, we played it safe by making small talk. Taylor

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

First, there are therapeutic disclosures which can be done to seek support, or improve their self-esteem. Second, there are relationship building disclosures, this is a highly selective type of disclosure where only an exclusive group of people have been revealed to with the intention of bettering the relationship. Third, problem-solving disclosures are performed to resolve problems, and end any questions the other individual may have. Fourth, preventative disclosures are disclaimers that are executed to avoid any problems. Fifth, political disclosures are revealed to educate or motivate others, and are usually politically motivated to promote social change. Sixth and final, spontaneous disclosures, which can be slip of the tongue, or the situation was opportune, and it was decided right on the spot to disclose this information (Shaw,

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