Therapeutic Presence

Shari M. Geller, PhD, is an author, clinical psychologist, and creator of the Therapeutic Rhythm and Mindfulness Program (TRM). With over twenty years of experience weaving psychology and mindfulness, Dr. Geller coauthored the first edition of Therapeutic Presence: A Mindful Approach to Effective Therapy. She also authored A Practical Guide For Cultivating Therapeutic Presence, which offers practical guidance for cultivating and strengthening therapeutic presence as a foundational approach. Dr. Geller has a long-term personal mindfulness meditation and drumming practice. Her training with teachers and neuroscientists, along with her personal practice, inspired her to integrate the benefits of mindfulness, group drumming, and emotion-focused awareness into one comprehensive program (TRM). Dr. Geller serves on the teaching faculty in Health Psychology at York University and for the Applied Mindfulness Meditation program at the University of Toronto; and is Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto, in association with the Music and Health Research Collaboratory (MaHRC). Dr. Geller is also the president and cofounder of the innovative Centre for MindBody Health. Leslie S. Greenberg, PhD, is Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Psychology at York University in Toronto, Canada and the primary developer of emotion-focused therapy. He authored the original books on Emotion in Psychotherapy (1986) and Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples (1988). More recent books include Emotion-Focused Couples Therapy: The Dynamics of Emotion, Love and Power (2008), Therapeutic Presence (2012), Emotion-Focused Therapy: Theory and Practice (2015), Case Formulation in Emotion-Focused Therapy (2015), Emotion-Focused Therapy of Generalized Anxiety (2017), Emotion-Focused Therapy of Forgiveness (2019), and Changing Emotion with Emotion (2021). He has received the Distinguished Research Career Award of the International Society for Psychotherapy Research as well as the Distinguished Professional Contribution to Applied Research from the American Psychology Association. He also has received the Canadian Psychological Association Professional Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology as a Profession. He is a past president of the Society for Psychotherapy Research. He currently trains people internationally in emotion-focused approaches.

Acknowledgments

Introduction to Therapeutic Presence: A Foundation for Effective Therapeutic Relationships
 
Part I. Theoretical and Empirical Basis of Therapeutic Presence
Chapter 1. Therapeutic Presence: A Theory of Relationship
Chapter 2. History of Presence Across Theoretical Approaches
Chapter 3. Research on Therapeutic Presence
 
Part II. The Model of Therapeutic Presence
Chapter 4. Preparing the Ground for Therapeutic Presence
Chapter 5. The Process of Therapeutic Presence
Chapter 6. The Embodied Experience of Therapeutic Presence
 
Part III. A Deeper Exploration of Therapeutic Presence
Chapter 7. Levels of Therapeutic Presence
Chapter 8. Challenges to Therapeutic Presence
Chapter 9. Presence Related to Therapists’ and Clients’ Emotional Experience
Chapter 10. Neurobiology of Therapeutic Presence
 
Part IV. Approaches to Cultivating Therapeutic Presence
Chapter 11. Mindfulness and Self-Compassion: Ways to Enhance Therapeutic Presence
Chapter 12. Experiential Approaches to Presence
 
Part V. Training in Therapeutic Presence
Chapter 13. Psychotherapy Training: Cultivating Therapeutic Presence
Chapter 14. Therapeutic Presence Exercises and Practices
Chapter 15. Cultivating Online Therapeutic Presence
 
Epilogue
References
Index
About the Authors