Self‐disclosure in psychoanalytic–existential therapy

This article is an effort to integrate contemporary psychoanalytic and existential perspectives on intentional therapist self‐disclosure. It offers a two‐stage decision‐making model that considers self‐disclosure from the vantage points of style and internalization. Clinical and research findings are presented to support the notion that the meanings a patient attributes to a particular self‐disclosure, and its power to move him or her towards greater health, is the product of a fluctuating matrix of interpersonal and intrapsychic variables. Special consideration is given to the challenges that arise during the early and termination stages of treatment and to the psychotherapy of therapists. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol/In Session 59: 541–554, 2003.