Great interview! I am a recently retired psychotherapist who writes about my own mental health struggles on Substack. Before this I had my "story" in several magazine and anthologies. There's also a couple of interviews on Youtube. I have also felt that trepidation about clients finding out too much about me. We are taught in school to not "self-disclose." But my main expertise was in Dialectical Behavior Therapy, where we are taught "to" self-disclose if we know it will help the client. I remembered times, during my own therapy during my twenties, when, as a therapist self-disclosed something to me, I felt such a sense of relief that I wasn't alone in my struggles...and they had gotten better! I used that in my own practice at the right times with clients and they all said variations of the same thing..."thank you for telling me that. Now I don't feel so alone."
I’m so glad this resonated and thank you so much for sharing your trepidation and your positive experiences with self disclosure. Makes me feel less alone too!
This makes so much sense. It’s a tricky thing to figure out. My degree was in integral counseling so a lot of emphasis on relational, transpersonal, humanistic, feminist … all of which lean towards more self disclosure. But of course it’s not a clear line. Good supervision and your own therapy helps a lot in the process I think. 🩷💗
Great interview! I am a recently retired psychotherapist who writes about my own mental health struggles on Substack. Before this I had my "story" in several magazine and anthologies. There's also a couple of interviews on Youtube. I have also felt that trepidation about clients finding out too much about me. We are taught in school to not "self-disclose." But my main expertise was in Dialectical Behavior Therapy, where we are taught "to" self-disclose if we know it will help the client. I remembered times, during my own therapy during my twenties, when, as a therapist self-disclosed something to me, I felt such a sense of relief that I wasn't alone in my struggles...and they had gotten better! I used that in my own practice at the right times with clients and they all said variations of the same thing..."thank you for telling me that. Now I don't feel so alone."
I’m so glad this resonated and thank you so much for sharing your trepidation and your positive experiences with self disclosure. Makes me feel less alone too!
This makes so much sense. It’s a tricky thing to figure out. My degree was in integral counseling so a lot of emphasis on relational, transpersonal, humanistic, feminist … all of which lean towards more self disclosure. But of course it’s not a clear line. Good supervision and your own therapy helps a lot in the process I think. 🩷💗
Absolutely! ☺️
This is so relatable.
Writing can be very cathartic.
It can help us put words to our feelings, emotions, and human experiences.