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Master the Art of Developing Presence with Clients
Lessons from a psychotherapist in training on how to prepare yourself to work with clients
If the objective of Gestalt psychotherapy is to learn how to use “self” in embodied relational practice, the first step in the process is the ability to develop presence. A personal, conscious experience is imperative to establish before entering into contact with clients.
In the book “Therapeutic presence: a mindful approach to effective therapy,” Toronto therapists and academics Shari Geller and Leslie Greenberg describe presence as:
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.
While discussing my intentions for the academic year, it is impossible to leave out the pandemic's repercussions and the immediate need to understand how to build and maintain strong therapeutic relationships while navigating in our new online environment.
Before we begin, it is important for the reader to understand I am in my third year of five at the Gestalt Psychotherapy Institute in Toronto, Canada. The third-year curriculum requests we engage with our peers as if they are our clients in…
