title: The reluctance to self-disclose: reflexive or reasoned?
abstract: Despite a growing body of clinical literature advocating the thoughtful and judicious use of self-disclosure in psychoanalysis, there remains a reflexive reluctance to intervene in this way by many analysts of various theoretical persuasions. Why is this the case? Four motives for this reflexive reluctance to self-disclose are discussed: (1) theoretical reasons; (2) psychoanalytic authoritarianism; (3) fears of influencing the patient through suggestion; and (4) the analyst's personality characteristics. Examining the reasons for this state of affairs should help to reduce the rigidity or orthodoxy with which clinical psychoanalysis is practiced.
authors.affiliation: San Diego Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, San Diego, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sugarman
mesh_terms: D001318:Authoritarianism; D001364:Awareness; D002605:Character; D005619:Freudian Theory; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008611:Mentors; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011574:Psychoanalytic Theory; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy / Q000193:education / Q000379:methods*; D012650:Self Disclosure; D013404:Suggestion; D014167:Transference, Psychology