ABSTRACT
Self-disclosure gradually came to be seen as part of the therapeutic relationship, considered in terms of congruence, transparency, and authenticity. D. A. Peterson and E. G. Goldstein recognize that some clients would be affected detrimentally by the therapist’s use of self-disclosure, and that this might indeed violate the principle of non-maleficience. In the historical framework of psychotherapy, self-disclosure is very much in its infancy, especially with the predominance up to the 1970s of psychoanalytical and behavioural schools of therapy. Probably up to this point, any disclosure by the therapist of personal information about himself or herself was considered inappropriate. Depending on one’s therapeutic model, stance, and training, the idea of “self-disclosure” in the therapeutic alliance remains firmly in the arena of debate and, to some extent, the jury remains out. Some therapists would confirm that they do “share”, or, put another way, “self-disclose”; some say they never do.
