Although professionals agree that successful psychotherapy requires clients be willing to reveal personal information, they have long debated just how much they need to know about the person chosen as their partner in that internal journey.
A newly published study conducted at the University of Memphis suggests a little information might help and definitely doesn't impede the process.
The study found that when psychologists offered a modest amount of personal information during a therapy session, clients liked them more and reported fewer symptoms of distress. Those findings were in contrast to the reaction of clients when the same therapists provided little or no personal information.
"What is dramatic is that even this small amount (of self-disclosure) had a systemic effect on the outcome," said Dr. Jeffrey Berman, a psychology professor.
Dr. Marna Barrett of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Psychotherapy and Berman authored the study published in a recent issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Barrett was a University of Memphis graduate student in the early 1990s when the research was conducted.
Berman said it still isn't clear if the therapeutic process benefits from sharing information or if it is harmed by restricting it.
The study provides a glimpse into continuing debates within the profession. Although psychoanalysis, which Sigmund Freud created as a way to understand how the subconscious shapes behavior, has fallen from favor, psychotherapy has boomed as Americans struggle with depression, anxiety, phobias and other problems.
But Berman said the profession remains overly reliant on "clinical lore and the therapist's past experience rather than systematic research." Thus therapists continue to disagree about how therapy is influenced by such factors as the therapist's wardrobe, cost of care or whether the therapist should share any personal information.
Although reportedly quite chatty himself during therapy sessions, Freud argued that the therapist should remain a blank slate onto which the client projected emotions. Some worried that by volunteering personal information, the therapist could interfere with the healing process by shifting attention away from the client and revealing the therapist's own weaknesses.
Others argue equally strongly that a therapist willing to share some personal information will be rewarded with a stronger, more effective bond with a client and a client who is more willing to speak honestly.
The researchers wanted to test those theories.
In this study, sharing was indirectly dictated by the client. Any personal information or personal comment a therapist made during a treatment session was in response to something a client said.
For example, if a client was talking about how sad she felt after breaking up with her boyfriend, the therapist might share a similar experience.
Berman and Barrett noted that process might suffer if therapists took up too much time talking about themselves or issues unrelated to the patient's concerns.
Berman noted the study failed to support those who argued that clients are more willing to share if the therapist more freely shared personal information. There was no difference between the two groups.
Copyright 2002 Scripps Howard News Service