Therapist’s Self-Disclosure in Therapeutic Relationships

Regardless of the therapy used, the essential and common elements of most therapies are therapeutic relationships (Sparks, Duncan, & Miller, 2008). Norcross and Hill (2002) defines treatment relationship as a cooperative alliance between therapist and client. It was found to affect the success of treatment (Lambert & Bergin, 1994). Therefore, researchers began to study the relationship of treatment. Therapist self-disclosure (TSD) is one of the factors studying the influence of researchers on treatment relationship (Audet & Eotal, 2010).

Almost all schools think self-disclosure is an essential element of therapeutic technology. The therapist 's self - disclosure is often thought of as helping clients to increase disclosure, which will lead to better understanding of immediate problems. As alliances between clients and therapists are based on self-disclosure by both sides, it helps to recognize that the therapeutic relationship is the fundamental source of treatment. In a sense, it is similar to modeling appropriate social behavior. Establishing a common interest among therapists and clients helps to maintain a certain degree of reality. Establishing such concern is particularly beneficial for relationships between therapists and children, especially adolescents, who need to understand that therapists are not authorities to gain full benefit from treatment.

The history of the therapist's disclosure was mainly based on a therapist's point of view. Early psychodynamic theorists strongly opposed the inclusion of therapist self-disclosure in client / therapist relationship. Ferenczi specifically insists on his idea that self-disclosure is essential to the treatment of child trauma, since a neutral flat therapist can only rejuvenate the child. Objective Relations Theorists want the client to see how the client is seen by others and how the content to be shared can be seen by others. It will also be made clear. Self - theorists believe that they are roughly the same as object - oriented theorists. Subjective and relational schools encourage disclosure as they can incorporate subjectivity into treatment. It thinks they are necessary for real healing.