The use of psychotherapist self-disclosure is a common therapeutic technique, with over 90% of therapists reporting using it in therapy. Therapists have reported making personal disclosures to engage genuinely or to display empathy. However, some studies showed that therapists may not use self-disclosures if they felt it would shift the focus away from the patient or therapeutic relationship and toward the therapist themselves. Some of the previous research on this topic is complicated by different studies defining therapist self-disclosure in various ways. The research, for example, confounded disclosures of the therapist’s personal life with disclosures about the here-and-now therapeutic relationship (also called immediacy or therapeutic metacommunication ). This study by Reimer and Hilsenroth addressed this problem by defining therapist self-disclosure as a verbal revelation about the psychotherapist’s life outside of therapy, specifically excluding nonverbal self-disclosures (e.g., wearing a wedding ring) and disclosures within or about the therapeutic relationship. The authors surveyed 237 clinicians who were, on average, 48.72 years old (SD=17.71) and had a mean of 18.52 years of experience (SD=15.89). Most reported female sex (64.56%) and White (79.75%). Professionally, 64.98% were psychologists, and practiced from a CBT (26.26%), integrative (23.21%), or psychodynamic (22.36%) perspective. Of the total sample, 97% of therapists, using the definition provided to them, reported having self-disclosed to a client at least once during their career. The highest-rated reasons for therapists’ self-disclosure included strengthening the therapeutic alliance, normalizing patients’ experiences, and promoting authentic dialogue. There was a small but significant correlation between higher experience level and self-disclosure. Therapists were less likely to self-disclose if the patient had a personality disorder diagnosis. Therapists with a psychodynamic orientation were more likely to first explore the context and timing of patients’ requests for personal information than therapists with other orientations.
Practice Implications
Therapist self-disclosure appears to be common. However, clinicians reported that the appropriateness of therapist self-disclosure largely depended on patient characteristics and the specific context. The results suggest that therapist self-disclosure may be most effective when used intentionally, with careful attention to timing, context, and individual patient characteristics, rather than as a routine intervention. When done in this manner, self-disclosure may strengthen the therapeutic relationship, normalize patient experiences, and foster a more authentic dialogue.
Riemer, B., & Hilsenroth, M. J. (2026). Self-disclosure of mental health professionals: Impact of experience, professional degree, and theoretical orientation. Practice Innovations. Advance online publication. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pri0000329