Exploring therapist self-disclosure of eating disorders in working with clients with eating disorder

Limited research exists addressing the use of therapist self-disclosure of personal eating disorder (ED) history as a therapeutic intervention when working with clients with EDs. This research addressed such a gap in the current literature by providing a personal account of one therapist who used self-disclosure of her own ED history when working with clients with EDs. In this single-participant case study, I utilized a qualitative, narrative method of research to explore the decision of one therapist to use self-disclosure of her personal ED history, as well as what she believed to be the benefits of using such an intervention. Benefits of using therapist self-disclosure of personal ED history when working with clients with EDs were identified by my participant as increased hope and motivation for the client, decreased shame around ED behaviour, a strengthened therapeutic relationship, and client trust in the therapist and therapy process.