The Dilemma of Therapist Self-Disclosure in Transgender Group Therapy

Abstract

ABSTRACT Therapist self-disclosure can be a powerful yet highly personal tool in clinical work. Specifically for LGBTQ+ patients, the therapist’s self-disclosure of LGBTQ+ identity may foster empowerment and build the alliance. It may also risk misattunement and erasure. The therapist remaining silent may center the patient’s experience; it may also model the therapist’s internalized oppression. This is further complicated by the group setting and format, as well as the therapist’s own stage of identity development in both professional and personal spheres. This dilemma is considered through a case presentation of a trans student support group I led as a queer therapist during my doctoral training. The case and subsequent reflection question the need for a binary, fixed perspective on therapist-self disclosure, as identity and relationship are not static but ever-changing.