ABSTRACT
Researchers, academics, therapists, and especially therapists-in-training would love a concrete answer to the simple question of “Is therapist self-disclosure good or bad for a client?” However, self-disclosure is a complicated, multifaceted intervention, just as humans and human relationships are complicated and multi-faceted. Thus, it is no surprise that, while the majority of research reviewed in earlier chapters of this text suggests moderately positive results, there are both mixed and murky conclusions. What if we are asking the wrong question? What if every therapist self-disclosure has both good and bad, favorable and unfavorable consequences for every client in many if not most clinical circumstances? This chapter will review research as it explores the theory that every therapist self-disclosure is for better and for worse.
