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Exploring the Impact of Self-Disclosure in Psychotherapy in ‘Dear Zindagi’

Rabani Bhatti

Riding the wave of mental health awareness in India, ‘Dear Zindagi’ was one of the first few movies that attempted to portray the process of psychotherapy and the importance of emotional wellness. This, of course, came with a Bollywood touch with scenes including Dr. Jehangir (the therapist) taking Kaira (the protagonist) to the beach for a session, a bicycle ride and other unorthodox methods of therapy. While the movie did get a lot of things wrong about psychotherapy and therapists, the one that stood out the most was Dr. Jehangir’s somewhat informal and unprofessional methods of therapy which led to Kaira’s increased dependence on him by the end. The movie got numerous things wrong about psychotherapy which made the portrayal seem somewhat inaccurate, this article, in particular, will explore self-disclosure by Dr. Jehangir and whether that is what led Kaira to become overly dependent on her therapist


There is a wide range of literature that extensively addresses the complex issue of self-disclosure by the therapist to the patient during therapy. The first model of the ideal therapist stance, conceived by Sigmund Freud, was likened to a blank screen indicating that traditionally, the general notion of psychotherapy was focused on anti-disclosure. According to Freud, “the therapist should be opaque to his patients and, like a mirror, should show them nothing but what is shown to him” (Henretty & Levitt, 2010, p. 63). Therefore, we can deduce that traditionally, psychoanalysts saw their goal as therapists to remain neutral and anonymous to allow patients to project their thoughts as it is for the purpose of interpretation. On the other hand, the pro-disclosure argument was developed within a humanistic framework by the Rogerians in the late 1950s. Since then, while the debate continues, client-centred therapists have argued that by using therapy-relevant self-disclosure cautiously, the client follows the lead and cultivates trust, perceived similarity, credibility, and empathetic understanding. Further, a report by the University of Memphis published in Clinical Psychology Review in 2010 revealed that over 90% of therapists report that they have self-disclosed in therapy (Henretty & Levitt, 2010).


Since self-disclosure has now become common practice and is becoming increasingly accepted as a safe way to promote and encourage client disclosure if used cautiously, it then brings us to the question– is self-disclosure by Dr. Jehangir portrayed in Dear Zindagi the cause of Kaira’s attachment and dependence on her therapist? The main scenes where Dr. Jehangir appears to be oversharing is one, where he takes his session on the beach and opens up about his father, child and divorce, and second, where he tells Kaira about a story his grandfather used to tell him. One of the main reasons this appears to be problematic is because of the context, mainly the specific experiences of Kaira’s character. Kaira had major abandonment issues and thus experienced problems with romantic relationships. While one can see Dr. Jehangir’s disclosure as therapy-relevant as he tried to show Kaira that he too faced relationship problems, the scene shows Kaira sympathising with her therapist which is not how it should be. The most commonly given reason for not disclosing with patients was that it removes the focus from the patient (Mathews, 1988), which almost appears to be happening here.


Therapist self-disclosure is best avoided with clients with poor boundaries, those with personality disorders and a weak ego-strength or self-identity (Henretty & Levitt, 2010). Self-identity does not exist in a vacuum as its development is influenced by one’s immediate family context as well as factors outside the family, like school and peers (Henderson et al., 2006). The movie not only showed us how Kaira had abandonment issues as she was left alone at a young age because her parents moved abroad but also how her failure in class 4th had a big impact on her family and consequently, on her. Considering these factors, it appears to be that Dr. Jehangir’s decision to self-disclose was a poor one. However, it is important to note that the impact of self-disclosure is multi-fold and complex. Appropriate reasons for therapists to self-disclose also include promoting client disclosure, fostering the therapeutic relationship/alliance and normalizing and promoting feelings of universality (Henretty & Levitt, 2010). All of these reasons stand true in the case of Kaira and Dr. Jehangir. For example, Kaira too faced relationship problems and by disclosing information about his divorce, Dr. Jehangir tried to not only promote client disclosure but also foster feelings of universality. 


It is important to note that the context of the treatment is an important variable. Self-disclosure is different depending on the age group of the client, modalities of the treatment as well as cultural frameworks. The impact of every disclosure depends upon the response of the other and there is no prescription for a sound disclosure as long as it is in the service of the patient (Stricker, 2003). While there were certain qualities of Kaira in the movie that indicated and predicted a possible negative impact of self-disclosure by the therapist, other factors like Kaira’s denial about her own issues and resistance to opening up show that perhaps Dr. Jehangir’s decision to open up about his personal issues was justified.


In conclusion, while there are numerous opinions about what the movie got wrong about therapy on the internet, self-disclosure by the therapist does not seem to be one of them as it only encouraged the protagonist to accept and speak up about her own issues which resulted in a positive impact of therapy on her well-being in the end. Psychotherapy cannot be seen as a one-stop solution to one’s problems in life, it only encourages the acceptance of one’s problems and helps one to work around these problems, and the movie successfully portrayed the same. 




References


Barrett, M. S., & Berman, J. S. (2001). Is psychotherapy more effective when therapists disclose information about themselves? Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69(4), 597–603. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006x.69.4.597


Farber, B. A. (2003). Self-disclosure in Psychotherapy Practice and supervision: An introduction. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 59(5), 525–528. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.10156

Henderson, C. E., Dakof, G. A., Schwartz, S. J., & Liddle, H. A. (2006). Family functioning, self-concept, and severity of adolescent externalizing problems. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 15(6), 719–729. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-006-9045-x


Henretty, J. R., & Levitt, H. M. (2010). The role of therapist self-disclosure in psychotherapy: A qualitative review. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(1), 63–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2009.09.004


Mathews, B. (1988). The role of therapist self-disclosure in psychotherapy: A survey of therapists. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 42(4), 521–531. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.1988.42.4.521


Stricker, G. (2003). The many faces of self-disclosure. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 59(5), 623–630. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.10165 


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