Patient self-disclosure: a review of the research.
Research shows that whereas most patients disclose deeply personal experiences in therapy, a significant proportion conceal some significant information. Findings also indicate that there are several categories of nondisclosed information (secrets, things left unsaid, and client reactions); that patients tend to withhold immediately experienced negative reactions; that disliked characteristics of oneself and parents are among the most thoroughly discussed issues in therapy while sex, aggression, and personal failure are least discussed; that men and women disclose to the same extent and on similar topics; that shame inhibits disclosure of negative affect; that a strong therapeutic alliance, overall tendency to be disclosing, and time in therapy facilitate disclosure; and that the discrepancy between disclosure and patients' ratings of salience of disclosure is a more powerful predictor of outcome than disclosure alone.
Farber
Barry A
BA
Program in CLinical Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA. Farber@tc.columbia.edu
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology*; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D012650:Self Disclosure