Therapist self‐disclosure in the treatment of eating disorders: A personal perspective

Eating disorders are associated with high rates of comorbidity, extreme medical complications, and decreased quality of life, and have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Treatment outcomes, however, remain concerningly dire and there is a lack of research examining the effectiveness of factors like therapeutic rapport that have yielded positive outcomes in other patient populations. This article focuses on the potential benefits of therapist self‐disclosure about past lived experiences of eating disorder with individuals struggling with the disease. It examines existing models of treatment in which disclosure‐fueled rapport is harnessed and draws from the personal experience of the author as an eating disorder survivor and practitioner. Research evidence and theoretical rationale from a psychodynamic perspective are used to support the argument for increasing the practice of therapist disclosure about lived eating disorder experience with this patient population.