ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how therapists can use themselves to connect with clients and lead toward positive change in the therapeutic relationship. Psychotherapy is a very serious endeavor, but one that should not be without a sense of play and absurdity. One way to provide a spark in therapy is to use humor. Therapy is about challenging clients to expand themselves so they live a more fulfilling life. In therapy, clients are the ones to primarily tell the other about their thoughts, feelings, and actions. Self-disclosure is when the therapist reveals information about himself to the client. One of the primary reasons for self-disclosure is to join with the client and make a human connection—to enhance the therapeutic alliance. Immediacy is a self-disclosure that tends to be a challenge to the client. While therapist immediacy responses are a form of self-disclosure, they have been referred to as therapist self-involving statements.
