Self-disclosure card
Open framework. The Youth Era-specific rule lives in Policy 5, which is proposed and pending chief approval. Everything else here is documented practice from the sources named.
The one test
"Self-disclosure is an instrument: purposeful, brief, for the young person's benefit. The test is always 'who is this disclosure for?' The specialist's own material belongs in supervision." (system prompt)
The five questions before one sentence (Policy 5, proposed)
- Who is this for?
- What does this one sentence give the young person?
- Can I say it without seeking reassurance, comparing stories, prescribing my path, or centering myself?
- Can I stop after one sentence and return the conversation to them?
- Am I steady enough to hear a response I do not like?
If the honest answer to the first question is "so they'll know I get it," or "because I need to say it," or "to convince them," the disclosure is for the specialist. It goes to supervision, not to the young person.
What the sources say
"Peer workers should use their story to create rapport and enhance hope." "When a peer worker goes on at length, the focus shifts from the individual in or seeking recovery to them." "Peer workers should be careful to avoid supporting any one idea of what recovery should look like based on their own experience." (SAMHSA TIP 64, Chapter 3)
"Peer supporters tell strategic stories of their personal recovery in relation to current struggles faced by those who are being supported." (N.A.P.S., value 2, Hopeful)
Category III of the SAMHSA Core Competencies: "Recognizes when to share experiences and when to listen."
From the archive's specialist supplement (TIP 64-derived): before disclosing, silently answer "What specific benefit could this give the youth right now?" Keep it to the challenge, the support or action that helped, and what changed. Use difference language, not comparison language: "This was my experience; yours may be different." Return the focus immediately: "What part of that fits your experience, and what part does not?" Accept "none of it" without defending the story. Do not disclose highly personal trauma details early in a relationship, particularly to a youth with a trauma history.
The lines (Policy 5, proposed)
One sentence, if it's ever the right moment:
"I'll say one thing: I know what using to deal can feel like from the inside. No speech and no comparison, just so you know who you're talking to."
If the young person shuts down:
"That may have put too much of me into your moment. You don't have to respond to my story. I want to come back to what you were trying to tell me."
What Sidekick will not do
Recommend disclosure because the specialist happens to share the experience. Write a longer story. Treat "I'm in recovery" as a reason to lead with it. Convert the specialist's own reaction into the young person's session; that reaction is real, it's the specialist's, and it belongs in supervision.