Perceptions of Self-Disclosing Counselors Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals

Abstract

The present study tested the effect of counselor self-disclosure on lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals’ perceptions of counselor expertness, trustworthiness, and attractiveness. A national sample of 275 lesbian, gay, and bisexual university students was recruited for an online survey. Participants were randomly assigned to read a written vignette with varying levels of counselor self-disclosure. According to an a priori comparison test, lesbian, gay, and bisexual participants who received professional and personal background disclosure rated the counselor as significantly more expert, trustworthy, and attractive than participants who received professional background disclosure alone. An overall main effect for therapist self-disclosure was also revealed by multivariate analysis of variance. These findings were consistent with the study's hypotheses and previous research in the area of counselor self-disclosure. Practice implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• self-disclosure
• counseling
• lesbian
• gay
• bisexual