an introduction

09 Aug 2025

We are 9 days into Aug, and I'm 1 post into Blaugust (that sounds as if I'm about to break into verse, or a poorly crafted Haiku) - I guess it's time for the introduction post.

What does an introduction post look like in the face of a digital world? How do we extend that digital handshake? What information is important? How do we balance vulnerability and self-disclosure so that a connection is built while still keeping a sense of privacy and safety?

There have been so many great introduction posts out there so far, definitely one of the benefits of jumping into this adventure a bit late. I echo what Jedda said here and previously here about how she hates talking about herself, and I am squarely in this camp as well.

Alexandra approached her intro post, which is an excellent read, and illustrates how to balance this idea of disclosure and privacy on the interwebs. Deliciously wry and witty, she walks that tension between a warm and inviting introduction without disclosing or doxing herself.

privacy and disclosure

Perhaps this topic is very front-of-mind as I am in the midst of a career switch from a long career in the corporate world to pursue psychotherapy as a profession. The topic of Self-Disclosure in Therapy and Counseling holds so many different views, opinions, and practices. Self-disclosure refers to how much a mental health professional (psychiatrist, psychotherapist, counsellor, etc.) provides information about themselves. There are strong opinions on both sides of this conversation. In short, some believe self disclosure is harmful to the therapeutic relationship and muddies the waters, that there should be a distinct separation clear and definable like science; other's believe just the opposite, that self disclosure is a natural human-to-human reality of relating, and by not disclosing you end up doing more harm within that therapeutic relationship. Here the conversation shifts to what is an appropriate level of self-disclosure by a therapist, how much, to what extent, and in what contexts, etc.

This broader discussion of privacy and disclosure, however, bleeds out of the realms of psychology and directly impacts our online worlds. Information is the core currency in today's world that fuels the algorithms, dictates market fluctuations, or how devices and all the conveniences of our worlds connect. What do you keep private, and what do you disclose? Who regulates it? Who stores that information? Why? Where? etc, and so on.

oh right - an introduction

anywayyyyy
my morning (and now afternoon) margin note ran away with me - apologies.
ahem
Hey
I'm heyraeh, or Crafty, or CraftyKraken, or Rach. It's nice to meet you =)

If you've made it this far - here are some random facts that you may not already glean from either my about page or my mastodon account.

[1] I love rice. Like, love rice.

[2] I am always thinking about cinematography or photography. I often have to pause a movie because I am so overwhelmed by a shot, lighting, framing, or the non-verbal elements that speak so loudly.

[3] I am an artist at my core, and this is a fact I always seem to lose sight of. Music and writing, I'd say, are my instinctual "go-to's"; however, I've also always had a love for digital creativity in all its forms (film, editing, photography, music production, websites, UI/UX, video games, 3D modelling software, etc).

[4] One of my fondest memories is always sprinting into my grandparents' house as a little four-year-old and heading directly to the vinyl player and putting on one of their Nat King Cole vinyls; I was obsessed (with him, the music, the vinyl, jazz).

[5] I am also equally obsessed with The Beatles.