Volz Brianna, Valverde Kathleen D, Robbins Steven J
Department of Genetic Counseling, Arcadia University, Glenside, PA, USA.
Department of Psychology, Arcadia University, 450 South Easton Road, Glenside, PA, 19038, USA.
J Genet Couns. 2018 Aug 8. doi: 10.1007/s10897-018-0283-z.
The complex nature of self-disclosure poses challenges for genetic counselors in clinical practice. We examined the impact of genetic counselor self-disclosure on observer perceptions of the counselor. In an online analog study, 123 participants watched a 3-minute video of a simulated genetic counseling session. For half the participants, the video showed the counselor disclosing that she had a family medical history similar to the patient (direct personal disclosure). For half the participants, the counselor revealed her experience with other patients (direct professional disclosure). Half the participants in each video condition read that the patient had discovered personal information about the counselor during a pre-session web search (indirect personal disclosure); half read that the patient learned of the counselor's FAQ webpage for prospective patients (indirect professional disclosure). Participants in the direct personal disclosure conditions gave higher ratings to the counseling relationship on an abbreviated version of the Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory and rated themselves more likely to see the counselor compared to those in the direct professional disclosure conditions. The content of the indirect disclosure conditions (personal or professional) had no effect. Brief, direct, verbal disclosure of session-relevant personal information by a genetic counselor appears to enhance the counselor-patient relationship and increase the likelihood of patients returning to the counselor.
自我披露的复杂性给临床实践中的遗传咨询师带来了挑战。我们研究了遗传咨询师的自我披露对观察者对咨询师看法的影响。在一项在线模拟研究中，123名参与者观看了一段3分钟的模拟遗传咨询会话视频。对于一半的参与者，视频显示咨询师披露她有与患者相似的家族病史（直接个人披露）。对于另一半参与者，咨询师透露她与其他患者的经历（直接专业披露）。在每个视频条件下，一半的参与者读到患者在会前网络搜索中发现了关于咨询师的个人信息（间接个人披露）；另一半读到患者了解到咨询师为潜在患者准备的常见问题网页（间接专业披露）。与直接专业披露条件下的参与者相比，直接个人披露条件下的参与者在巴雷特-伦纳德关系量表的简化版上对咨询关系给出了更高的评分，并认为自己更有可能再次找该咨询师咨询。间接披露条件（个人或专业）的内容没有影响。遗传咨询师简短、直接、口头披露与咨询会话相关的个人信息似乎能增强咨询师与患者的关系，并增加患者再次找咨询师咨询的可能性。
