act of sharing personal information
Types
Accidental Self-Disclosure
incidental or unplanned outside a session
Unavoidable Self-Disclosure
obvious distinguishing characteristics like race, clothing, etc.
Self initiated / Client initiated
Client seeks out information about their counselor on print or online media such as biographies, social media
Deliberate Counselor Self-Disclosure
disclosure of personal information that a counselor makes purposely to a client to build rapport
Benefits
- Rapport Building
- Clients will feel more at ease when they get to know their counselor
- To help clients not think they are alone in their struggles
- Clients may be intimidated by counselor’s credentials and status
Risks of Self-Disclosure
- A shift in treatment focus away from the client’s needs and treatment
- Client may see excessive self-sharing as self-serving; dampens the relationship
- Can trigger a client
- CAN BLUR BOUNDARIES