Perceptions of self-disclosing counselors among lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals

The present study tested the effect of counselor self-disclosure on lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals' perceptions of counselor expertness, trustworthiness, and attractiveness. A national sample of 275 lesbian, gay, and bisexual university students was recruited for an online survey. Participants were randomly assigned to read a written vignette with varying levels of counselor self-disclosure. Ac-cording to an a priori comparison test, lesbian, gay, and bisexual participants who received professional and personal background disclosure rated the counselor as significantly more expert, trust-worthy, and attractive than participants who received professional background disclosure alone. An overall main effect for therapist self-disclosure was also revealed by multivariate analysis of vari-ance. These findings were consistent with the study's hypotheses and previous research in the area of counselor self-disclosure. Practice implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.