personal disclosure - how much is too much? (part one)

As a person centred counsellor with experience in peer support work, I believe that the best therapeutic experience is delivered when there is a strong working relationship between the client and the therapist.  In my own experience of accessing counselling and mental health services I have often struggled with the "therapeutic blank slate" - when the person I was working with was entirely neutral and non-disclosive.  For me, that was a barrier to engaging with the work.

How can I build a therapeutic relationship with someone who isn't giving me anything on which to build a therapeutic relationship?  How can I trust someone who doesn't trust me?  I often found my therapists to be evasive - which was frustrating! - or worse, a blank wall which felt like an exercise in controlling me through use of a power dynamic.

There are, of course, risks in the other direction.  If a therapist discloses something personal about themselves, this may contribute to a client building up an idea that the relationship is not professionally boundaried.  Similarly there is the risk that a therapist might not keep full focus on the client in what is their session.

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