Client distress disclosure, characteristics at intake, and outcome in brief counseling.

Abstract

Client tendencies to disclose versus conceal personally distressing information (termed distress disclosure) were hypothesized to relate to measures of social support, personality, perceived stress, and symptomatology at intake, as well as improvement over the course of counseling. Seventy-nine college counseling center clients completed questionnaires at intake; 45 of these clients also completed measures at termination. Distress disclosure was related to social support, trait positive affectivity, and trait negative affectivity at intake; and distress disclosure was associated with a decrease in client-rated stress and symptomatology over the course of counseling. These findings point to the importance of attending to client differences in tendencies to disclose versus conceal personally distressing information both at intake and as it relates to change in counseling.