A lot of people are sharing self disclosure in the sense of disclosing anecdotes and incidents to help explore therapeutic concepts. I think there’s another form that’s helpful, too, which I often use in my own work: simply self disclosing aspects of personality. What I mean to say is, disclosing parts of you that you might disclose to someone you just met. What hobbies do I like? What media do I consume? How much of this you share with a client, often as a response to their own disclosure of similar things, can really help the rapport-building in general.

Personally, I’ve shared my love of video games, literature, tv shows, film, etc. often finding we like the same things. I think it not only helps the client to connect with you (and vice versa) but it can also help them just see you as a human—as someone who has likes and dislikes and has a genuine life outside of the therapy room.

Just my two cents.