Book Reviews / Comptes rendus

Abstract

Self-Disclosure in Psychotherapy, by Dr. Barry Farber, focuses on disclosure dynamics between client and therapist in individual therapy. Three purposes are delineated: (a) to provide historical context to the growing interest in disclosure issues in the United States; (b) to integrate empirical, clinical, and theoretical viewpoints of disclosure in psychotherapy; and (c) to practically bring together research fi ndings from pertinent research communities. The book is intended for therapists and counsellors from all professional backgrounds as well as graduate-level students.Dr. Farber is a professor of psychology and education, and director of the Clinical Psychology Training Program at Teachers College, Columbia University. He obtained a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Yale University and received training in behavioural, client-centred, and psychodynamically oriented psychotherapies. Spawned in the early 1980s, Dr. Farber's special appreciation for disclosure dynamics in the therapeutic encounter resulted in his steady research on the topic. His strong presence in the psychotherapy research community, and his work alongside other researchers with a similar focus, situates him well in providing this comprehensive contemporary analysis.The book is neatly divided into two sections. It begins with a discussion of the general nature of interpersonal disclosure, which serves as a springboard to separately address "patient" and therapist disclosure. Disclosure in supervisory relationships is also acknowledged, and clinical examples are provided throughout.Four chapters are devoted to patient disclosure (PD), addressing clinical, research, and multicultural perspectives. In chapter 2, conceptualizations of PD according to psychodynamic, humanistic, and cognitive behavioural orientations are provided, followed by brief mention of therapies utilizing nonverbal disclosure as a means of expressing, accessing, and healing emotions. A range of empirically supported variables infl uential to patients' tendency to disclose, as well as positive and negative consequences of disclosing in therapy, are covered.In chapter 3, Dr. Farber draws largely on his research to address topics that patients are least and most comfortable discussing in therapy, and he speaks to the interplay of PD and factors such as shame, therapeutic alliance, and length of therapy. He summarizes the patient view of disclosure as "I'll tell you many things, but I won't tell you everything."The outcome controversy-whether or not disclosure unambiguously leads to therapeutic improvement-is introduced in chapter 4. To this end, Dr. Farber cites research that supports and opposes a positive connection between disclosure and outcome, while identifying methodological and conceptual issues that arguably cloud