College of Behavioral & Social Sciences

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Chipping Away at the Blank Screen: Therapist Self-Disclosure and the Real Relationship
(2008-08-19) Ain, Stacie; Gelso, Charles; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
The present study examined clients' perceptions of their real relationships with their therapists, the appropriateness of the amount of their therapists' self-disclosures, and their therapy outcomes. Ninety-four former clients completed measures of these variables. A positive correlation was found between the strength of their real relationships and their therapy outcomes. A positive correlation was also found between the relevance of the self-disclosures and their therapy outcomes. In addition, clients who felt that their therapists self disclosed an appropriate amount had stronger real relationships and better outcomes than clients who felt that their therapists did not disclose enough. Overall the results imply that therapists should self-disclose an appropriate amount of information that is relevant to their clients.