Therapists’ perceptions of their use of self-disclosure (and nondisclosure) during cross-cultural exchanges

ABSTRACT

Current research on therapist self-disclosure suggests that not all therapy skills have been successfully adapted when working with clients from diverse backgrounds. Using semi-structured interviews, nine therapists were asked about the ways in which they use self-disclosure with their clients and the ways in which they refrain from revealing personal information to their clients. We identified three core subthemes subsumed under each of the two broader themes (i.e. disclosure and nondisclosure). The major theme Disclosure contained three subthemes: client curiosity, shared difficult or traumatic experiences, and cultural similarities. The major theme Nondisclosure subsumed the three subthemes: boundary concerns, awareness of overidentification, and cultural differences. We discuss the results by interweaving critical multicultural frameworks, social-psychological theories and intersubjective psychoanalytic approaches.

KEYWORDS:

• psychotherapy process
• qualitative methods
• therapist self-disclosure
• multicultural counselling
• psychodynamic/psychoanalytic

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors

Shafik Sunderani, PhD, is a psychotherapist for Corrections Canada (federal prison), former teaching professor at the University of Guelph-Humber, Canada, and research associate with the Centre for Diversity in Counselling and Psychotherapy. His research interests include countertransference dynamics in therapy, psychodynamic formulations of clinical cases, sociobiological approaches to crime, stealing other people’s romantic partner (applied social psychology), and cultural politics and diversity issues within the microcosm of the prison.

Roy Moodley, PhD, is associate professor of counselling psychology at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada. He is director of the Centre for Diversity in Counselling and Psychotherapy. His research interests include critical multicultural counselling/psychotherapy, race and culture in psychotherapy, traditional healing, culture and resilience, mixed-race relationships, and gender and identity.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.