Self-Disclosing in Psychotherapy Treatment

Does self-disclosure of therapists in psychotherapy contribute to the treatment and to the client? The answer is yes, but it depends on for whom and when.

Contemporary theories in the field of psychotherapy refer to a therapist's self-disclosure (TSD) as an integral part of the therapeutic encounter. While previous studies on the subject have indicated that a therapist's self-disclosure may have a positive effect on the course of treatment, the contextual variables that may affect the effectiveness of the disclosure have not been sufficiently explored to date. Tal Alfi-Yogev's study (led by Dr. Dana Atzil-Slonim and Prof. Ilanit Hasson-Ohayon) examined for which clients and at what point during treatment may TSD lead to better outcomes.

The study took place in the community clinic of the Department of Psychology at Bar-Ilan University, and involved 68 clients and 47 therapists who filled out questionnaires as part of the treatment: an emotion-regulation questionnaire (i.e., how much the person manages to influence the emotions he experiences), which each client filled out at the onset of the treatment; a self-disclosure questionnaire completed at the end of each session, in which the therapist reported the extent of their disclosure during the session; and an outcome rating scale accessing overall functioning and distress levels, which clients filled out at the beginning of each session regarding the previous week.

The results of the study show that when clients experience high levels of mental stress at the beginning of the session, the therapists’ self-disclosure allowed for a greater improvement in the clients' symptoms. In addition, the results indicated that therapists’ self-disclosure was more effective for clients with better emotion-regulation abilities.

The study findings reinforce the importance of tailoring therapeutic interventions for specific clients at a specific time.

For the full article in Psychotherapy Research