Effects of intimacy of therapist's self-disclosure and formality on perceptions of credibility in an initial interview

A therapist's expertness, trustworthiness, empathy, and attractiveness were evaluated by 300 subjects after viewing a 5-min. videotape of a therapist-client interaction. Therapist's level of self-disclosure and formality were the independent variables. Ratings of trustworthiness were highest when the therapist was informal. Therapist's high disclosure of depression yielded decreased ratings of attractiveness, empathy, and expertness in comparison with no disclosure by the therapist.