Shari Geller

This new edition offers practical exercises and a training program for cultivating presence in students and trainees. Therapeutic presence-one amp rsquo s ability to exist fully in the moment with a client-is crucial to effective psychotherapy practice. Since the first edition of Therapeutic Presence was published nearly a decade ago, further research has emphasized the role and deepened our understanding of this essential building block of effective therapeutic relationships. This book is a detailed guide on cultivating therapeutic presence for new and seasoned therapists alike. The authors amp rsquo model is based on the results of their extensive study, and revolves around three key aspects of therapeutic presence: Using mindfulness and experiential exercises to create the conditions for presence, both prior to and in sessions Generating attunement to self and others, as a precursor that facilitates therapeutic presence and Recognizing the felt experience of in-session presence. With practical, research-based scenarios and exercises, as well as a full training program for cultivating presence in students and trainees, this text will help train the next generation of therapists in the nuts-and-bolts of empathic attunement and a strong therapeutic alliance to create effective therapy.

Research has consistently demonstrated the role of the therapeutic alliance in effective psychotherapy. Yet, the emotional demands of therapy combined with everyday stressors and distractions can prevent therapists from being fully present with their clients, which makes it difficult to build and maintain a stable alliance. This book is a much-needed practical guide to cultivating therapeutic presence. The specific techniques described will help clinicians engage more deeply with their clients on multiple levels -- physical, emotional, cognitive, spiritual, and relational. It will also help clinicians and their clients deepen their relationship into a healing encounter. Author Shari Geller first reviews the empirical foundations of therapeutic presence, including its neurophysiogical underpinnings. She then translates this knowledge into clinical skills and practices that therapists of all theoretical backgrounds can use to set a pre-session foundation for presence, cultivate that presence in session, and overcome barriers. To be optimally effective, therapists must also practice self-care and hone their presence skills outside of therapy. Thus, Geller provides exercises that allow therapists to cultivate presence in all aspects of their lives. The book culminates in a description of therapeutic relational presence, the deepest level of connection therapists and clients can achieve through ongoing presence with each other.

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 amp rsquo 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.