Study of Self-Disclosure by Therapists

This is an anonymous survey about the use of self disclosure by either a licensed psychotherapist, psychiatrist, counselor or social worker, or a student of psychotherapy, psychiatry, counseling or social work.

A Story

INSTRUCTIONS: Please read the story below. At the end of the story, you will find there are a series of questions written in blue. Please answer these questions. Do not worry about how you answer them, just write freely, as much as you are able to write.

Jeff Watters, a 40 year old Caucasian physician, is living with his wife in a suburban home they purchased several years ago. For the past two years, Jeff has been in therapy with Dr. Steven Knox, seeing him in his office. Dr. Knox is an integrative therapist, using humanistic, cognitive and psychodynamic techniques. Jeff initially came to see Dr. Knox for help with anxiety about his work situation, and arguments he was having with his wife. Recently their marriage has deteriorated to the point that they are talking about getting a divorce. Dr. Knox is 50 and went through a difficult divorce himself ten years earlier.

In the early phase of treatment Jeff and Dr. Knox were focused on his low self-confidence, problems he was having at work, and in his marriage. Currently, his wife has been more and more demanding, as increasingly she has been blaming Jeff for her own unhappiness. Jeff has found himself trying to please her and when his efforts fail, he feels responsible.

Recently, Jeff realized she had become emotionally abusive. He found that he wanted out of the marriage but he was having a difficult time leaving. Dr. Knox listened patiently. At some point, he told Jeff that he too had gone though a difficult divorce years earlier.

What do you think about Dr. Knox telling Jeff about his own divorce? What do you think he might have felt after disclosing this personal information? What effect do you think this intervention may have had on Jeff’s psychotherapy?

Write as much as you can in the space below.

Self-Disclosure Questionnaire

In the following questionnaire, self-disclosure is defined as “verbalized personal revelations made by the therapist to the client” (Watkins, 1990, pp.478). This practice is distinguished from self-involving statements, which are comments made by the therapist regarding the therapy process (Edwards, 1994).

These are questions about self-disclosure. Please answer using the 1 to 5 response scale indicated.

	Never true of me	Rarely true of me	Sometimes true of me	Often true of me	Very often true of me
1. I talk to my clients about my personal life.
2. I talk to my clients about my daily life.
3. I talk to my clients about my important personal relationships. (For example: partner; family; close friends.)
4. I talk to my clients about difficulties I have faced at work and/or school?
5. I talk to my clients about my own medical problems?
6. I talk to my clients about emotional problems I’ve had.
7. I talk to my clients about emotional problems I’m having now.
8. The longer I’ve been in practice, the more I talk to my clients about my personal life.
	Never true of me	Rarely true of me	Sometimes true of me	Often true of me	Very often true of me
9. I have heard self-disclosure mentioned as a therapeutic tool in classes, seminars or workshops.
10. I talk about my personal life more often with clients of the same sex.
11. I talk about my personal life more often with clients of the opposite sex.
12. I speak honestly to my peers/coworkers about how much I engage in self disclosure with my clients.
13. I speak honestly to my supervisor/consultant about how much I engage in self-disclosure with my clients.
14. I am more comfortable sharing personal information with clients who are similar to me in ethnicity.
15. I engage in self-disclosure with clients only after a therapeutic alliance has been established.
16. I discuss personal information with clients who are just beginning therapy.
	Never true of me	Rarely true of me	Sometimes true of me	Often true of me	Very often true of me
17. My decisions about how much personal information I share with clients is case-specific.
18. The personal information I share relates to whatever the client is talking about.
19. I have seen self-disclosure mentioned as a therapeutic tool in therapy textbooks.
20. I have seen self-disclosure mentioned as a therapeutic tool in therapy journal articles.

Have you ever been in psychotherapy yourself? Yes No	Never true of me	Rarely true of me	Sometimes true of me	Often true of me	Very often true of me
21. I discuss my psychotherapy experiences with clients?
22. My primary pyschotherapist uses(d) self-disclosure in our sessions?

Have you ever used psychiatric medications? Yes No	Never true of me	Rarely true of me	Sometimes true of me	Often true of me	Very often true of me
23. I discuss my personal use of psychiatic medication with my clients?

Self Disclosure Situations Survey (Chelune, G. J., 1976)

Use the scale below to record how willing you would be to reveal information about yourself to the person(s) in each question. Select the number which best indicates the degree of self-disclosure at which you would be comfortable in the situation. Write the number you select on the line to the left of the question. In looking at the numbered scale, you will see that only the numbers at the far left and far right (1 and 6) have been described. You should, however, use any of the numbers which best represent your reaction to the situation. The numbers from 1 to 6 are to be understood as indicating gradually increasing degrees of willingness to disclose at a personal level in that situation.

Below is a list of situations. Imagine yourself in each of the situations and then indicate, using the numbered scale, the degree to which you would be willing to disclose. Please answer every question.

1. You are on a blind date.

2. You are having dinner at home with your family.

3. You are sightseeing with a tour group in Europe.

4. You are sitting next to a stranger on an airplane.

5. You are with the family of a friend.

6. You are in a coffee shop with some casual friends.

7. You are being introduced to a group of strangers.

8. You are a member of a psychotherapy group.

9. You are at a party with some friends.

10. You are in the library with a friend.

11. You have picked up a hitch-hiker while driving.

12. It's evening and you are alone with your partner in his/her house.

13. You are applying for a job as a public relations consultant.

14. You are in a discussion group on human sexuality.

15. You are at a restaurant with your date.

16. You are meeting your girl/boyfriend's parents for the first time.

17. You are eating alone and a stranger asks if s/he may join you.

18. You are taking a walk in a park with your partner.

19. You and a friend are driving to California.

20. You are on a picnic with friends.

BFI-44

Here are a number of characteristics that may or may not apply to you. For example, do you agree that you are someone who likes to spend time with others? Next to each statement, please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with that statement.

I see myself as someone who...	Strongly Disagree	Moderately Disagree	No Opinion	Moderately Agree	Strongly Agree
Is talkative
Tends to find fault with others
Does a thorough job
Is depressed, blue
Is original, comes up with new ideas
Is reserved
Is helpful and unselfish with others
Can be somewhat careless
I see myself as someone who...	Strongly Disagree	Moderately Disagree	No Opinion	Moderately Agree	Strongly Agree
Is relaxed, handles stress well
Is curious about many different things
Is full of energy
Starts quarrels with others
Is a reliable worker
Can be tense
Is ingenious, a deep thinker
Generates a lot of enthusiasm
I see myself as someone who...	Strongly Disagree	Moderately Disagree	No Opinion	Moderately Agree	Strongly Agree
Has a forgiving nature
Tends to be disorganized
Worries a lot
Has an active imagination
Tends to be quiet
Is generally trusting
Tends to be lazy
Is emotionally stable, not easily upset
I see myself as someone who...	Strongly Disagree	Moderately Disagree	No Opinion	Moderately Agree	Strongly Agree
Is inventive
Has an assertive personality
Can be cold and aloof
Perseveres until the task is finished
Can be moody
Values artistic, aesthetic experiences
Is sometimes shy, inhibited
Is considerate and kind to almost everyone
I see myself as someone who...	Strongly Disagree	Moderately Disagree	No Opinion	Moderately Agree	Strongly Agree
Does things efficiently
Remains calm in tense situations
Prefers work that is routine
Is outgoing, sociable
Is sometimes rude to others
Makes plans and follows through with them
Gets nervous easily
Likes to reflect, play with ideas
I see myself as someone who...	Strongly Disagree	Moderately Disagree	No Opinion	Moderately Agree	Strongly Agree
Has few artistic interests
Likes to cooperate with others
Is easily distracted
Is sophisticated in art, music, or literature

Satisfaction with Life Scale

Below are five statements that you may agree or disgree with. Using the 1 - 7 scale below indicate your agreement with each item by placing the appropriate number on the line preceding that item. Please be open and honest in your responding.

	Strongly Agree	Agree	Slightly agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Slightly disagree	Disagree	Strongly disagree
In most ways my life is close to my ideal.
The conditions of my life are excellent.
I am satisfied with my life.
So far I have gotten the important things I want in life.
If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing.

General Information

How did you hear about this study?

listserve
link from another website:
craigslist city:
web search
from a friend
Other

Age

Gender

Female Male

Degree:
M.D./Ph.D.
M.D.
Ph.D.
Psy.D.
M.T.F.
Social Work
Other Mental Health Profession
M.D. student
Ph.D. student
Psy.D. student
M.T.F. student
Social Work student
Other Mental Health Profession student
Other

What country were you born/raised in?

In what country do you practice?

If you practice in the US, in what specific region do you practice?

What ethnic/racial/cultural, and/or national background do you most identify with?

Where would you place your parents on the following spectrum for social class?

Where would you place yourself on the following spectrum for social class?

Number of years of formal education your mother or father (whichever is the highest) has completed:

Number of years of formal education you have completed:

What is your religious background, i.e. what religion did you grow up with?

What is your present religion if any?

Sexual orientation

What is your housing status?(please check the one that applies best to you)

In general would you describe your political views as

How would you describe your psychotherapy orientation? (check all that apply)
Cognitive
Behavioral
Cognitive Behavioral
Interpersonal Psychotherapy
Psychoanalytic
Psychodynamic
Humanistic
Existential
Family Systems
Feminist
Narrative
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Control Mastery
Eclectic
Integrative
Psychopharmacology ONLY
Other

What kind of setting do you practice in? (check all that apply)
private
clinic
inpatient hospital
community mental health
university
other

As a professional, I: (check all that apply)
prescribe psychoactive medications
provide brief psychotherapy
provide long-term psychotherapy
provide group pychotherapy
provide family/couple's psychotherapy
provide both medications and some form of psychotherapy

If you are having a relationship problem, how comfortable do you feel discussing it with the following people?	Very uncomfortable	Somewhat uncomfortable	Neutral	Somewhat comfortable	Very comfortable	Not applicable
My spouse or partner
My children
My friends who work in the mental health profession
My friends who do not work in the mental health profession
My students (if any)
Colleagues I know professionally, but am not friends with
Supervisors (if any)
My patients/clients

If you are having a medical problem, how comfortable do you feel discussing it with the following people?	Very uncomfortable	Somewhat uncomfortable	Neutral	Somewhat comfortable	Very comfortable	Not applicable
My spouse or partner
My children
My friends who work in the mental health profession
My friends who do not work in the mental health profession
My students (if any)
Colleagues I know professionally, but am not friends with
Supervisors (if any)
My patients/clients

If you are having a psychological problem, how comfortable do you feel discussing it with the following people?	Very uncomfortable	Somewhat uncomfortable	Neutral	Somewhat comfortable	Very comfortable	Not applicable
My spouse or partner
My children
My friends who work in the mental health profession
My friends who do not work in the mental health profession
My students (if any)
Colleagues I know professionally, but am not friends with
Supervisors (if any)
My patients/clients

If your frequency of self disclosure has changed, to what do you attribute this change?

Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey.

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