Reflecting on professional self-disclosure and supportive relationships with foster carers during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

Why you should read this article • To enhance your knowledge of professional self-disclosure • To understand how mental health nurses can appropriately use professional self-disclosure in their work with foster carers • To learn about how approaches to self-disclosure changed during the shift to remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic Professional self-disclosure can be defined as a clinician revealing personal information about themselves to the person they are caring for. This article provides reflections from clinicians working in child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and their navigation of professional self-disclosure during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. The reflections focus on the use of self-disclosure in supportive relationships with foster carers. Drawing on the authors' practice experiences as clinicians in specialist CAMHS settings, the article considers changes in the way that self-disclosure was approached following the shift to remote care delivery during the pandemic. The authors suggest that remote working involves a potentially increased scope for inappropriate use of self-disclosure and outline the implications for mental health nurses working with foster carers.