"As a therapist, I sometimes forget how strange the therapy relationship can seem to people encountering it for the first time. A friend recently started working with a therapist, and when I asked how it was going, he said, "It's weird, you know, I don't know anything about the guy. He could be a total creeper in his real life. How am I supposed to trust someone I don't know anything about?""
"Trust is the foundation of a therapeutic relationship, and even though many therapists have a public presence online, trust is built through real-time interactions. This process unfolds differently depending on a person's cultural values and lived experiences. In this post, I'll talk about the role of therapist self-disclosure in therapy, and when it builds trust and when it undermines it. I'll conclude with some practical considerations to help you navigate trust with a therapist."
Trust underpins effective therapy and forms primarily through real-time interactions rather than public profiles. Cultural values shape expectations about disclosure and reciprocity, with collectivistic contexts often valuing mutual exchange. Western training historically favored therapist neutrality and minimized personal disclosure, reflecting a blank-slate model. Thoughtful therapist self-disclosure can strengthen trust when it respects ethical boundaries and aligns with a client's cultural norms and comfort. Directly asking therapists about their approach, boundaries, and disclosure practices can help clients assess fit and manage the inherent power differential in the therapeutic relationship.
Read at Psychology Today
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