Quote:
Originally Posted by Echos Myron redux
I agree with this. My first therapist would self-disclose whenever he had similar issues to those I described and I experienced it as invalidating, confusing and, to be honest, competitive. Sometimes his story would be 'worse' than mine and I would feel shut down. I think your therapist has handled it really well.
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I agree that your therapist seems to have handled it well. I also get that if his self-disclosure helped you feel connected and understood it makes sense that you'd have liked it to come earlier on.
I also had a T who self-disclosed all the time and it was a disaster. I also often felt that she was one-upping me:
"Your mom just died? So sad and painful. I get it. My mom died too only I was much younger than you and left with no one to take care of me."
"You were assaulted? That's an awful experience. I get it. I was also assaulted. Repeatedly. By a close family member. As a child."
Self disclosure. IMHO a thing to be deployed infrequently, with great discretion, for clear, client-centred reasons.