With PQDT Open, you can read the full text of open access dissertations and theses free of charge.
About PQDT Open
Search
Therapist self-disclosure is an issue that has been long discussed in psychology and for current therapists knowing when, what, and how much to disclose is a challenge. The goal of this study was to investigate how various extents of information, related to a therapist’s previous struggles with mental health issues, impacted the client’s overall perception of that therapist. This study predicted a curvilinear relationship between extent of disclosure and client perception of the therapist. The hypothesis was that a mild extent of disclosure would be seen more favorably than no disclosure, a moderate extent would be even more favorable, and an extreme extent would be seen around the same level of favorable as a mild extent. Vignettes, manipulation check questions, a client perception questionnaire, and demographic questions were given to undergraduates in a Psychology class in order to emulate clients in therapy. A between-subjects, one-way ANOVA was conducted on the four conditions (no disclosure, mildly extensive, moderately extensive, and extremely extensive) and overall client perception. Findings indicated that there was a significant difference between the no disclosure and the moderately extensive disclosure conditions. There is a curvilinear trend, but it was not significant. This means that participants saw therapists who disclose information about a similar diagnosis and symptoms they struggled with in a more positive light than therapists who disclose nothing.
Advisor: | Pomerantz, Andrew |
Commitee: | Ro, Eunyoe, Segrist, Dan |
School: | Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville |
Department: | Psychology |
School Location: | United States -- Illinois |
Source: | MAI 56/04M(E), Masters Abstracts International |
Source Type: | DISSERTATION |
Subjects: | Ethics, Psychology, Clinical psychology |
Keywords: | Client perception, Extent, Extra-therapy disclosure, Mental health, Self-disclosure |
Publication Number: | 10275655 |
ISBN: | 978-1-369-84765-9 |