What would you do in my place?” “Haven’t you ever gone through something like this before?” “If you’ve never done drugs, how do you know how to help me?” “Do you believe in God?”

In the course of your work, clients might ask questions that invite self-disclosure: “What would you do in my place?” “Haven’t you ever gone through something like this before?” “If you’ve never done drugs, how do you know how to help me?” “Do you believe in God?”

Everything about you—the way you dress, sit, talk, etc.—indicates something about who you are. You cannot help self-disclosing in these ways. How loudly you give to your clients voice to who you are is truly the only choice you have, from the whisper of your mere physical presence, to the speaking voice of how you decorate your office, to the scream of having a home practice. Add to this your choice of how much to reveal about your values, your past experiences, and your present experience with the client, and it becomes clear that there is a wide range of self-disclosing behaviors from which to choose. Various theoretical approaches incorporate a range of acceptable levels of self-disclosure, with psychodynamic approaches on the low end and humanistic/feminist approaches on the high end. Whatever kind or extent of self-disclosure you use, there is one common principle: Self-disclosure is only to be employed in the best interest of the client. This week, you will explore what this means.

For your Journal entry, explain in 1–2 paragraphs when it is appropriate to use self-disclosure and what some of the possible benefits of self-disclosure for the client might be. Specify what this looks like and how it will positively impact your client.