Therapeutic Presence

Shari M. Geller, PhD, is a registered clinical psychologist with a commitment to mindfulness practices and a passion for rhythm and drumming. Dr. Geller has a 20-year mindfulness practice and weaves Buddhist philosophy and rhythm-based work into her life and clinical practice.  She has a private practice in Toronto and Grey-Bruce County, where she sees individuals and couples with a variety of issues as well as a desire for personal growth and/or emotional, psychological, and spiritual integration. She is also a contract faculty member at York University and the University of Toronto, where she teaches counseling skills, mindfulness, and therapeutic presence practices. Dr. Geller developed Therapeutic Rhythm and Mindfulness (TRM), a group program integrating mindfulness and rhythm-based technologies to facilitate emotional healing.  Her research interests include the relationship of therapeutic presence to effective therapy and the health benefits of the TRM program for cancer survivors.   Leslie S. Greenberg, PhD, is a Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology at York University in Toronto, Ontario. He is a leading authority on working with emotion in psychotherapy and the developer of emotion-focused therapy, an evidence-based approach. He has authored the major texts on emotion-focused approaches to treatment of individuals and couples. He has received the Distinguished Research Career Award of the Society for Psychotherapy Research, the Carl Rogers Award of APA's Society for Humanistic Psychology, the Canadian Council of Professional Psychology Programs' Award for Excellence in Professional Training, and the Canadian Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology as a Profession. Dr. Greenberg is a founding member of the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration and a past president of the Society for Psychotherapy Research. He conducts a private practice for individuals and couples and trains people in emotion-focused therapy.  

Introduction

I. Theoretical and Empirical Basis of the Model



History of Presence Across Theoretical Approaches
Empirical Research on Therapeutic Presence
Therapeutic Presence: A Theory of Relationship

II. The Model of Therapeutic Presence



Preparing the Ground for Therapeutic Presence
The Process of Therapeutic Presence
The Experience of Therapeutic Presence

III. Additional Perspectives on Therapeutic Presence



Levels of Therapeutic Presence
Challenges to Therapeutic Presence
Neurobiology of Therapeutic Presence

IV. The Cultivation of Therapeutic Presence



Buddhist Mindfulness: A Way of Enhancing Therapeutic Presence
Experiential Approaches: Somatic, Emotion-Focused, Creative, and Relational Approaches to Cultivating Therapeutic Presence
Therapeutic Presence Exercises and Practices

Epilogue

References

Index

About the Authors