THE EFFECTS OF LEADERS SELF-DISCLOSING AND NOT SELF-DISCLOSING IN GROUP COUNSELLING


Durmus E.

HACETTEPE UNIVERSITESI EGITIM FAKULTESI DERGISI-HACETTEPE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, sa.44, ss.149-158, 2013 (SSCI) identifier

Özet

Leader is an important therapeutic power in counseling groups. In this study, the effect of leaders' disclosing and not disclosing themselves in counseling sessions was examined. It was aimed to reveal the effects of self-disclosure behaviors of leader models on the counseling process and participants based on the views of the people attending the sessions. To this end, psychological counseling sessions were held for 12 weeks with two separate groups each including ten members. One of the groups was led by a group leader who discloses him/herself, while the other was led by a not self-disclosing leader. At the end of the sessions members were asked two open-ended questions about the leader model of their counseling. The data were analyzed using content analysis. The results revealed that that for the leader to disclose himself had positive therapeutic effects on the group including modeling, encouraging, trust in group, and creating attachment, interaction and solidarity feelings. Moreover, lack of self-disclosure by the leader has positive effects such as not spending the group time or perceiving the process more professional.