Self-disclosure, does your T do it?

I've heard some do and some don't. If so, was it anything important? Therapeutically relevant? Really personal? Once or often?

Sort of. T discloses only in the most non-personal sense. I've never gotten a "You've self-injured? So have I!" More like "I bike" and "I think mountains are neat."

Nothing personal or therapeutically relevant, really. Just as part of polite, low-key conversation.

Some T's are very open and I'm not going to trash on it...but, again, I'd be concerned if you're asking questions about it based on your three-month acquaintanceship with your T.

On occasion. She usually does it to try and explain something or in the attempt to normalize my experience. She doesn't disclose too much other than she is married, has a couple kids and a dog, how long she has been with her husband, and that she has moved around a lot. Actually, she did disclose to me that she sees a counselor herself but it was completely relevant to the conversation because I was talking about how I didn't want to have to see someone for a long period of time. That disclosure was probably one of the most powerful things she told me because it really made me re-think my feelings about going to therapy/counseling.

Mine does quite a bit. It makes him feel more human. He told me when his mom died and he tells me about his kids sometimes. He doesn't disclose anything inappropriate.

T1 rarely does it. When I first started seeing him, he told me something about his girlfriend that was relevant to our session. And he told me when he was about to have a baby, but that's it.

T2 told me more about herself like where she used to live, that she had autoimmune diseases like I do, and when he boyfriend had to have a colonoscopy...hahaha could have been fine without hearing that.

Every once and a while. I have phone sessions on occasion in crisis, and she seems to disclose more in those.

She doesn't seem reticent to disclose, just waits for the right time - wants to make it about me.

No.
She only told me she's pregnant, but she had to because she's getting fat and she will leave work for some months. And that she's also from a small town, when she aksed me about the town I live in.
I wish she would tell some more about herself. Nothing too personal. But I think it could help me.

Mine has told me he self-discloses as part of his modality. He doesn't believe in the blank slate. He is careful with what he tells me as I'm pretty sensitive and don't want a lot of personal info, but he does often tell me stories using examples from his own life, and I find these frequently helpful.

my T say very little about herself and i kind of like it that way for some reason . i have no real need to know about her and her life at all. i am very aware that she is just my T and i have no need to know any more about her beyond that

All of my T's self-disclosed to some degree. I wouldn't have it any other way. Nothing that was every inappropriate or "too much" -- not with the T's I worked with long-term. But I was with them long-term, so it was a bit here and a bit there -- not some huge, long, self-reveals or anything.

T has disclosed a lot over the years. Most of it for theraputic reasons. I struggle with my diagnosis and needing as well as having such a messed up family. She has told me a lot of her history to normalize it ask. It also allowed me to build trust. Some stuff she shared because I asked so not necessarily rhetoric.

She does here and there as it's relevant to whatever we're talking about. I'll admit something embarrassing, way back in the first few months that I saw her, I used to keep a list of things she disclosed about herself. oh good lord did I just say that?!

i know a good bit about my Ts life from things he has told me. it doesnt bother me and hes not interrupting me to tell me things about himself. its very natural. a few things that he's told me has helped me alot, like that his mom died when he was in his 20s (my dad died when i was 10). also, i was describing to him this feeling i had with my first big psychotic break about how i thought i was figuring life and reality out like no one had before, and it was amazing, and when i got better i was kind of sad to lose that. he disclosed to me that he had mild delusions like that before (he has bipolar disorder) and could relate to what i was describing. that helped me out so much because i felt really crazy basically saying i missed that psychotic episode.

Some more than others and I'm OK with it and found it therapeutic and helpful. Sometimes it's just innocuous things that make them human. I don't like the blank slate taken too far.

T self discloses, a lot. We have a very close relationship and I know a lot about her. Likes, dislikes, weaknesses, hobbies, health issues, family issues, etc and so much more that I'm not willing to list. Sometimes it's related therapeutically to me, but other times it's just us talking or her venting, which some may disagree with but it works for me and my therapy, which is very long term.

My T discloses very little except when I ask about certain things having to do with managing life, emotions, stress, etc.

Yes. It is nothing relevant, interesting, useful or earth shattering. I don't particularly care but it is not harmful either. It is more like they just get bored and start to talk.

No. I think it would be helpful if she did more, might help me to feel more secure.

Time is limited and expensive in session. So Beyond basic courtesy, a T's Self disclosure should be limited and only relevant to the topic at hand, i.e. YOU. A therapist should never be telling you stories or any personal anecdotes that make you focus on the Therapist. It should only be used as a tool to help you deal with your own stuff.

My T doesn't disclose much at all about herself and when she does it's in response to what I'm talking about and only to validate or normalize my own situation. The most personal stuff she's ever said was very thought out and carefully disclosed and she checked with me to make sure it was the right thing to do. It was useful for me to hear her experience in that it helped me realize something about myself. (i.e., I'm not the only one who's felt this way or had this thing happen, etc.)

Never is a really big and absolute word. This may be true for you and what you need. For me, I appreciate those moments when we can get out of my head and issues and just talk about that movie that just came out or the dog he's adopting next week. It doesn't take up much time; I don't mind the 3 or 4 minutes that we might chat. It builds a rapport and is probably a strong reason why I really don't have transference or boundary issues concerning him -- he isn't a mystery to me. I don't have that temptation to go snooping around in his wife's best friend's cousin's FB page to find out more (just being silly there, sort of). I appreciate the simple friendly moments we have that have absolutely no purpose except to just be friendly. We all like different styles with our therapists; I think that's okay personally.

he discloses unnecessarily at times.

Not much.....

My T is pretty open with her self-disclosures, though I think she realized at the beginning I was a little bit overwhelmed with how much she talked/revealed about herself, so she pulled back. The things she's told me have all been in response to what I am taking about. She's even shown me a few videos of her kids, probably because I am a preschool teacher and her kids are around that age.

On occasion. Early on (I think it was either my first phone call or my very first session) she told me about her husband's profession. The reason for that was that he's in the same field as I am and she wanted to make sure that I don't work for him or know him.

Other than that she doesn't reveal much about herself and only when it's relevant. The most personal thing she told me was that she has struggled with weight too. That was probably mostly her trying to normalize things...

Mine does. In the early days of me seeing her, it was very limited and basic. More recently it has become more frequent, but I feel like that was what I needed, and we talked about it. She's told me that she doesn't believe in being a blank slate, but that she does believe that therapy is about me and disclosures by her should have some therapeutic value, even if the value is just helping me to connect with her more and feel more safe.