That's ok if it works for you. Your post just implied that no human connection is possible without self-disclosure and I was just merely pointing out that those two are not necessarily related.

I personally pay for my therapist out of pocket and I would refuse to pay him for being a friend. For me self-disclosure is a cheep and shallow way of establishing connection and, although it is absolutely appropriate between friends, from my T I expect, whom I really pay a lot from my monthly income, far more than that.

Btw, for knowing that someone has issues and is flawed you don't actually need to know their history. The mere fact that they are human will give the necessary information because there simply aren't any human being who don't have issues or flaws.