Therapeutic Presence: A Mindful Approach to Effective Therapy

The therapeutic relationship is essential to positive outcomes of psychotherapy. In this book, Shari M. Geller and Leslie S. Greenberg argue that therapeutic presence is the fundamental underlying quality of the therapeutic relationship and, hence, effective therapy. Therapeutic presence is the state of having one’s whole self in the encounter with a client by being completely in the moment on a multiplicity of levels—physically, emotionally, cognitively, and spiritually.

Geller and Greenberg present their empirically based model of therapeutic presence that integrates three aspects of the concept: how present therapists prepare for presence both pre-session and in general life, what activities therapists engage in when being therapeutically present, and what in-session presence feels like.

The authors also provide a therapeutic presence theory of relationship based on research and clinical wisdom. Importantly, because presence is a learnable state that can be cultivated with practice and commitment, the authors infuse the book with practical, experiential exercises for cultivating presence.