Self-Disclosure

Sarah Knox

Self-disclosure refers to the verbal disclosure of personally sensitive information by client or counselor, and may involve disclosure about actions, thoughts, or feelings. The necessity of client self-disclosure in counseling has a long tradition, beginning with Sigmund Freud, who asserted that clients should disclose everything that comes to mind. This expectation persists to the current day. Practitioners who follow a range of counseling approaches agree that counseling would not be successful without client self-disclosure, for healing occurs through the discussion of personally sensitive content and the resolution of concerns related to that content. This belief in the healing potential of disclosure is not universally supported, however, for some counselors believe that clients' views of themselves suffer when they reveal shameful ...

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