ABSTRACT
Would you disclose your own history of addictive behaviors when treating a recovering addict? Would you disclose whether there was addiction in your family? What about if you do not have a history of addiction? Can you still have credibility? How much personal information do you disclose about yourself when you are a therapist treating a recovering addict? How does what you share or don’t share impact the therapeutic relationship? This chapter explores many of these questions and offers my own perspective on them, to give the reader an example of how one psychologist specializing in addictions handles these issues. The topic of therapist boundaries in addiction treatment is addressed, and a clinical example of being invited to a recovering client’s wedding is provided as an illustration.
