Self-Disclosure in Psychotherapy Supervisors: Gender Differences

Objective: This article will explore the possible reasons for gender differences found in self-disclosure in psychotherapy supervisors.

Method: Trainees and supervisors in the Brown University Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior completed a questionnaire that asked about the appropriateness of the actions of a psychotherapy supervisor.

Results: On three items, male and female supervisors differed significantly in their perceptions of appropriate boundaries. These items were: interacting with the resident alone outside of supervision e.g. playing tennis (p=.0005), publishing identifiable content of supervision discussions with resident’s consent (p=.0006), and disclosing the supervisor’s prior struggles with substance abuse (p=.0008). Female supervisors answered “never” to these items in greater numbers than the male supervisors, who, for the most part answered “occasionally”.

Conclusion: Traditional gender role behaviors and differential gender socialization patterns are possible reasons for the gender difference in perception of boundaries by supervisors.