How Self-Disclosure of Learning Differences Guides My Clinical Relationships

• Origins of Empathy
• Fellow Travelers
• Transference & Countertransference
• Resources

Part of my initial interest in becoming a psychotherapist and coach stems from my personal experiences struggling with learning differences. I am interested in using some aspects of my life to help other young adults with similar diagnoses navigate their challenges. It is reported that 75 to 85 percent of young adults on the spectrum are unemployed, and although the exact statistics on unemployment among adults with other learning differences are not known, it is widely thought that they also face a variety of barriers.1 The clients that come to my practice often say that they are struggling to manage their workload, navigate interpersonal situations with colleagues and bosses, and establish friendships and romantic relationships. Preserving the uniqueness of their challenges while drawing on my own experiences is a tricky balance as a psychotherapist, but I have developed a few strategies for doing so.


If transference in psychotherapy normally consists of unresolved feelings and expectations that are placed onto the therapist--oftentimes in an unconscious attempt to recreate or approximate a past relationship, and countertransference is the therapist’s resulting conscious and/or unconscious feelings that are projected onto the client, the therapeutic relationship between two young people with learning differences is ripe for the enactment of these feelings/experiences. I often find that the clients I work with report a feeling of safety and security, perhaps seeing me as an older sibling or parental figure, especially when they describe feeling understood or supported by my being in a unique position to empathize with their learning differences.


While working with male clients, I have often found that the transference/countertransference relationship may take on a different form. This is due to the fact that there is an element of both bonding and competition; many of the young men I have worked with may have a complicated history with women, especially regarding rejection and feelings of emasculation, a topic about which they may look to me for understanding. While I do not usually disclose my romantic status or experiences, by validating the unique challenges of dating with a learning difference and providing some practical steps for managing these feelings, I establish a bond with these clients, who describe previous male friendships in which they discussed these issues. A dynamic of male companionship can often form between my clients and me. However, some of my male clients have also seen me as a source of competition, and have reacted strongly, stating “you don’t know anything” or “how can you understand me?” Admittedly, it may be uncomfortable for some of my clients who see me as a “success story,” especially when they are struggling to find work or build interpersonal relationships. This is also a dynamic that I try to work through with them, making space for it to be discussed in the therapy room.

I attempt to use my countertransference as an indicator of not only how I should respond to the client in the room, but also of when, if and how I should self-disclose. A dynamic of male connection may lead me to respond to a client’s disclosure regarding rejection in the dating world with a few suggestions for improving one’s strategies, perhaps with the caveat that I have learned from my personal experiences. Depending on my relationship with the client, I may also use my countertransference as an indicator of my familiarity with certain aspects of the client’s professional experiences. For example, I remember identifying with a client I will call Michael, when he described challenges figuring out certain aspects of his job, as I have had similar experiences. However, if a client expresses competition or hostility towards me, I may also notice a feeling of defensiveness that arises in me, which will cause me to be more cautious regarding self-disclosure. Again, countertransference can be an indicator of when and how to self-disclose.

In my clinical work, transference and countertransference are often sparked by the patient’s vulnerability in the therapeutic relationship, something that individuals with learning differences will sometimes go to great lengths to conceal. Sometimes, they will hide behind a veneer of competence, lest anyone discover their sometimes painfully embarrassing challenges. The transference and countertransference dynamics in a therapeutic relationship often emanate from these struggles becoming visible, causing relief, vulnerability and perhaps shame at the same time. An articulate and thoughtful client, whom we will call Jenny, recounted how she had transferred to a reputable private school to receive more academic support and was subsequently abandoned by her previous friends, who stated, “So you think that you are better than us?” Despite distancing herself from her new school’s perceived “preppy” culture, she was reticent to explain that she had enrolled there because the workload and lack of individual attention at her local public school had become too onerous to handle. Quite the opposite of feeling “better,” her true reasons for transferring were a source of embarrassment. Hence, she described feeling “invisible” to her former friends, as they had falsely assumed she must have chosen the school for its supposed prestige. Jenny’s story prompted me to reflect on how many of my peers had also judgmentally questioned my parents’ decision to send me to small private schools, with statements such as, “Wait! How many people go to your school!? That’s weird.” Not to mention, “Are your parents rich or something?” I stated to her, “It is so frustrating and somewhat ironic when people assume you attend a private school because your rich parents want to help you escape the chaotic real world of public education, instead of the reality that you would do anything to be able to thrive while attending a school with over thirty students per class, loud and confusing hallways, and overwhelmed teachers.” Jenny thanked me, and although I never disclosed my experience, the fact that I had made hers visible created a positive transference between us. In that moment, I may have seen her in a way she would have wanted to be seen by an empathetic friend.

Group therapy sessions necessitate a different kind of self-disclosure and create a different stage for the expression and integration of transference and countertransference into the therapeutic work. I led a small group on developing dating skills for young men on the spectrum. The participants asked me, “Do you have a girlfriend,” and “What dating experience do you have?” I did not answer the first question but did confirm that I had faced some the challenges in this area. I added that I had developed some strategies and techniques of my own for finding success. My self-disclosure sparked an ongoing discussion of the struggles of dating between the group members, a discussion in which I was a participant in but not the expert leader. In other words, my self-disclosure leveled the playing field, so to speak, which facilitated a deeper and more meaningful conversation in the gruop. Because the participants acknowledged that they did not feel comfortable speaking about these issues with anyone else, the transference that may have developed was that of a relationship between intimate friends. Regarding my countertransference, I also felt a sense of kinship with the other participants.

Self-disclosure regarding around my learning differences and a careful monitoring of the related transference and countertransference relationships with certain clients has enriched my clinical work. My clients have had both positive and negative reactions to my self-disclosure, which has provided an important opportunity for deepening the clinical relationship. While not all my clients react positively to knowing that I also have a learning difference, the majority have developed a trust and willingness to explore how my self-disclosure may help them in treatment. Although I will continue to make sure that sessions focus on clients and not on myself, I believe that, overall, my decision to self-disclose has been a positive experience for clients.