www.ijmef.org International Journal of Modern Education Forum (IJMEF) Volume 1 Issue 1, August 2012 16 College Students’ Self‐Disclosure in Writing Assignments: Professional and Ethical Issues H. Russell Searight 1 , Barbara K. Searight 2 1 Department of Psychology; Lake Superior State University; Sault Sainte Marie, MI USA 2 Department of Psychology, Algoma University, Sault Sainte Marie, ON Canada hsearight@lssu.edu Abstract Students are often drawn to psychology courses from a desire for a better understanding of themselves and significant others. Successful psychology instructors are able to apply scientific principles to issues that have an impact on learnersʹ daily lives. As part of upper level courses in family therapy and health psychology, students were given the option of writing a final paper applying course content to their own lives. The majority of students elect this option, resulting in the instructor learning a good deal of personal information about the students. As a clinical psychologist, the instructor is bound by the American Psychological Associationʹs Ethical Principles, cautioning against dual relationships, including mandating student self‐disclosure and/or providing professional advice or counseling to current students. This article focuses on how to maintain appropriate interpersonal boundaries with these writing assignments while encouraging studentsʹ psychosocial development. Keywords College Student Mental Health; Pedagogical Techniques; Teaching Psychology Introduction What is the role of self‐disclosure in student writing assignments? Should students be encouraged to reflect upon and describe in writing their personal struggles with psychiatric conditions, drug and alcohol abuse, and suicide? Is writing about these experiences a source of healing or harm? Should assignments involving self‐disclosure be required? The author, a clinical psychologist with 25 years of practice experience, has recently given the option of student papers involving self‐disclosure in two upper level undergraduate psychology courses. While students have the choice of writing a paper on less personal content, the majority of students select the option involving application of course material to their own lives. For example, in an upper level undergraduate health psychology course, a majority of students complete a project in which they assess and develop a plan for changing their own health related behaviors. Although students completing this project may address relatively benign issues such as increasing regular exercise, improving sleep habits, or following a more healthy diet, they have also selected alcohol and marijuana abuse, perfectionism, managing depressive symptoms, and changing dysfunctional relationship dynamics. In an upper level family therapy class, students may complete a project describing their own family‐of origin. This project stems from the work of Murray Bowen, a well‐known family theorist who believed that to be effective, therapists should understand their own family‐of –origin [1].. Through constructing a genogram (a schematic family tree) of at least three generations accompanied by a narrative description, students analyze their family history for patterns such as management of emotion, response to death and loss, and mental health issues. Students are not required to present their family and may choose an alternative assignment that does not involve self‐disclosure. Informal feedback from students indicates that they find these personal writing assignments to be valuable and personally meaningful. For example, many students spontaneously report that completing the health paper was one of the few times in their recent lives that they had been able to reflect on their physical health and psychological well‐being. While students report little discomfort with the process, the instructor has struggled with ethical questions raised by these assignments. The choice to include personal self‐disclosures as a pedagogical activity has led the instructor to critically reflect upon professional ethical principles—particularly around potential for harm and dual relationships‐‐ and the appropriateness of these