Client perspectives of therapist self-disclosure: Violating boundaries or removing barriers?

Audet, Cristelle

doi:10.1080/09515070.2011.589602

Cited by 60 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…disclosure may redirect the session to focus on the counselor rather than the patient, lead to inappropriate crossing of boundaries, and lead the counselor towards becoming directive in their discussions with the patient. Similar arguments pro and con have been made in the domains of counseling/clinical psychology (e.g., Audet 2011;Henretty et al 2014;Myers and Hayes 2006;Watkins 1990;Ziv-Beiman 2013) and medicine (e.g., Arroll and Allen 2015;McDaniel et al 2007).…”

supporting

confidence: 56%

Effects of Genetic Counselor Self‐Disclosure: an Experimental Analog Study

Volz

Valverde

Robbins

2018

Journal of Genetic Counseling

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The complex nature of self-disclosure poses challenges for genetic counselors in clinical practice. We examined the impact of genetic counselor self-disclosure on observer perceptions of the counselor. In an online analog study, 123 participants watched a 3-minute video of a simulated genetic counseling session. For half the participants, the video showed the counselor disclosing that she had a family medical history similar to the patient (direct personal disclosure). For half the participants, the counselor revealed her experience with other patients (direct professional disclosure). Half the participants in each video condition read that the patient had discovered personal information about the counselor during a pre-session web search (indirect personal disclosure); half read that the patient learned of the counselor's FAQ webpage for prospective patients (indirect professional disclosure). Participants in the direct personal disclosure conditions gave higher ratings to the counseling relationship on an abbreviated version of the Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory and rated themselves more likely to see the counselor compared to those in the direct professional disclosure conditions. The content of the indirect disclosure conditions (personal or professional) had no effect. Brief, direct, verbal disclosure of session-relevant personal information by a genetic counselor appears to enhance the counselor-patient relationship and increase the likelihood of patients returning to the counselor.

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supporting

confidence: 56%

Effects of Genetic Counselor Self‐Disclosure: an Experimental Analog Study

Volz

Valverde

Robbins

2018

Journal of Genetic Counseling

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“…Arguments in favor of self-disclosure claim that controlled information sharing can have potential benefits on the therapeutic process [ 10 ] and can be used successfully as a form of integrative intervention [ 9 ]. Patients have reported that therapist self-disclosure can help resolve imbalances of power within the therapeutic relationship and therefore empower the patient, provide reassurance, and offer new perspectives [ 11 , 12 ]. Positive effects of disclosure have also been found within Internet-based therapeutic relationships where occurrence of therapist self-disclosure was positively correlated to treatment outcome [ 13 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Patients Look Up Their Therapists Online? An Exploratory Study Among Patients in Psychotherapy

Eichenberg

Sawyer²

2016

JMIR Mental Health

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Background The use of the Internet as a source of health information is growing among people who experience mental health difficulties. The increase in Internet use has led to questions about online information-seeking behaviors, for example, how psychotherapists and patients use the Internet to ascertain information about each other. The notion of psychotherapists seeking information about their patients online (patient-targeted googling, PTG) has been identified and explored. However, the idea of patients searching for information online about their psychotherapists (therapist-targeted googling, TTG) and the associated motives and effects on the therapeutic relationship remain unclear. Objective This study investigated former and current German-speaking psychotherapy patients’ behavior and attitudes relating to TTG. In addition, patients’ methods of information gathering, motives, and success in searching for information were examined. Furthermore, patients’ experiences and perceptions of PTG were explored. Methods Overall, 238 former and current psychotherapy patients responded to a new questionnaire specifically designed to assess the frequency, motives, use, and outcomes of TTG as well as experiences and perceptions of PTG. The study sample was a nonrepresentative convenience sample recruited online via several German-speaking therapy platforms and self-help forums.Results Of the 238 former and current patients who responded, 106 (44.5%) had obtained information about their therapists; most of them (n=85, 80.2%) had used the Internet for this. Besides curiosity, motives behind information searches included the desire to get to know the therapist better by attempting to search for both professional and private information. TTG appeared to be associated with phases of therapy in which patients felt that progress was not being made. Patients being treated for personality disorders appear to engage more frequently in TTG (rphi = 0.21; P=.004). In general, however, information about therapists sought for online was often not found. Furthermore, most patients refrained from telling their therapist about their information searches. Conclusions Patients appear to engage in TTG to obtain both professional and private information about their psychotherapists. TTG can be viewed as a form of client-initiated disclosure. It is therefore important to include TTG as a subject in therapists' education and also to raise awareness within patient education. This investigation provides the first findings into TTG to begin debate on this subject.

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“…Various theoretical positions regarding therapist selfdisclosure exist in literature, highlighting potential benefits for the patient and the therapeutic alliance, as well as serious risks (Audet, 2011;Farber, 2006;Forrest, 2010;Hill & Knox, 2002). Although attitudes towards self-disclosure are likely to be determined by the modality therapists identify themselves with and techniques they use (Carew, 2009;Gibson, 2012), there can also be discrepancies within a single modality.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%