Self-Disclosure In Counselling

The topic of self-disclosure from counselors during therapy sessions has been the focus of much ethical debate, with researchers alternately claiming that disclosure improves the therapeutic relationship by humanizing the therapist, or that it blurs boundaries, which may damage client outcomes (Peca-Baker & Friedlander, 1989; Audet, 2011). Both studies to be discussed and compared in this paper focus on the client’s experiences and reactions to a therapist’s disclosure. While one study used a quantitative design (Peca-Baker & Friedlander, 1989), and the other a qualitative approach (Audet, 2011), both support previous findings that clients’ responses to disclosure from their therapists is mixed, and may depend upon the extent and relevance