Therapist self-disclosure: Let’s tackle the elephant in the room

Therapist Self-Disclosure (TSD), the revealing of a therapist’s feelings, thoughts or personal information to a client, is an inevitable aspect of therapeutic relationships. However, despite its prevalence in clinical settings, we believe there is insufficient recognition and exploration of TSD in our work with children and adolescents. Because TSD is not often formally addressed during training, therapists across the spectrum of clinical child psychology and psychiatry are often left with the belief that disclosures are rare or inherently negative occurrences that should be avoided. As a byproduct, therapists often develop a blind spot to many disclosures that they make and are thus underprepared to navigate the complex decision-making process that surrounds TSD. In our article, we address the elephant in the room: that most therapists disclose in some form or other. In addressing this topic, we hope to encourage replacement of avoidance and silence with discourse and reflection around TSD occurrences. We explore developmental considerations pertinent to child and adolescent clients as well as suggest a framework for TSD decisions. We feel that improved supervision and clinical practice around TSD is a worthy and achievable aim that merits further recognition, consideration and educational focus.

A History of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology

The roots of the broader field of clinical child psychology date to the founding of the first psychology clinic by Lightner Witmer at the University of Pennsylvania in 1896. The first professional society dedicated to this discipline, the Section on Clinical Child Psychology, was founded in 1962 by Alan Ross. It became a member of the Society of Clinical Psychology (Division 12) of the American Psychological Association (APA). In 1998, clinical child psychology was recognized as a specialty by the APA. The Section on Clinical Child Psychology evolved into the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (Division 53, APA), and the American Board of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology was founded. The emphasis of this field is on evidence-based assessment and treatment of children as individuals, family members, and students in school. The evidence includes controlled randomized trials of clinical procedures, which are increasingly made available to the public.

Seeing the child in context: Supporting gender diverse children and their families in multiple ways – An introduction to this special edition

This Special Issue of Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry includes a group of papers that originated in the work of the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), which is the nationally designated National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom to work with children and adolescents experiencing significant concern and distress about their gender. This short introduction to those papers aims to set the context and explain why certain areas have been given a focus.

Supporting Bereaved Students at School

Given that most children will experience the death of at least one close or special person prior to high school graduation, and because the vast majority of children attend school on a regular basis, school-based mental health professionals must be prepared to effectively support bereaved students. Supporting Bereaved Students at School is a contemporary guide that provides school-based mental health professionals with the information they need to support bereaved students, with a particular emphasis on practitioners in the fields of school psychology, school counseling, school social work, and clinical child psychology. The book covers how these professionals can help children and adolescents cope with their emotional, physical, and social reactions during the period of grief, lasting months or years, following a significant death in their lives. The book is divided into two sections, the first focusing on foundational knowledge and the second offering a range of evidence-based intervention strategies. This book provides school-based professionals and graduate students with tools that can be easily integrated into their daily practice.

Corrigendum

Duschinsky, R., & Solomon, J. (2017) Infant Disorganized Attachment: Clarifying Levels of Analysis. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1177/1359104516685602 .