Self disclosure was previously seen as an unwanted element, and thought to be unnecessary in the relationship between the therapist and the client; however, this philosophy has changed because therapist were no longer seen as just a blank screen (Ornstein & Ganzer, 2005). One prominent incidence of self disclosure from Dr. Wachtel during his session with Melissa was at the end of their conversation. He stated that his concern was whether she had the freedom not remain the one who is different in the family, or as she labels, the “fun” one. While he was letting her know what he was thinking about her situation, he also avoided imposing any decisions on Melissa. This was similar to the times where he offered his thoughts about the connections he made between Melissa’s current situation and her experiences. There was open dialogue from both …show more content…
There was particular moment near the end of the session that seemed to be an instance of enactment that was seem to have derived from transference and countertransference. Dr. Wachtel asked Melissa why she was smiling after he presented a question to her. Melissa replied, “I just don’t care. I mean I don’t care that I am waitressing, you know… I am fine with that for now.” It seemed like the response she wanted to give to her parents when they questioned her about her career. Her thoughts and feelings were displaced onto Dr. Wachtel. Because Dr. Wachtel adopted the relational model in therapy, he noticed the transference and countertransference. Towards the middle of therapy, he asked Melissa whether his questioning of what was the “Melissa way” was similar to the pressure her parents placed on her. Interestingly, she responded yes to this. In this brief interaction, he was able to reach deeper into Melissa’s unconscious, which she was initially resistant to