Therapeutic Presence: Bridging Expression and Form

In the therapeutic workplace, the interaction between patient and therapist is built upon cognitive, affective and expressive experiences. The contributors to this new book explore this interaction in depth, examining the concept of therapeutic presence, and the therapist's ability to maintain it. Arthur Robbins suggests that, since therapeutic presence calls for an openness and awareness of the intersubjective space between therapist and patient, therapists who become receptive to the subtle cues of sensory perceptual communication, as well as to the playful, mirroring and meditative interaction will find more successful and meaningful interactions with patients. Therapeutic presence requires a sensitivity to the concepts of centring and grounding, embodies the spatial and temporal characteristics of the therapeutic frame, and an experience of energy that may open, shut down, or disrupt the field of therapeutic contact. This stance can be applied to therapeutic modalities ranging from psychoanalysis to creative arts therapy, in work with both short term and long term populations, and Robbins suggests that the full use of the therapist's creative energies may provide the only solution to overwhelming therapeutic situations.