Therapeutic presence is foundational to supporting a strong therapeutic relationship and allowing clients to process major losses at each stage of life. Therapeutic presence is a mindful relational stance that encompasses the qualities of being engaged and receptively attuned in the moment, compassionately with and for the client, and in direct human to human contact, which promotes safety and growth. It is an invitation for therapists to remain grounded and present while attuning to clients’ moment-to-moment experiences. When therapists can offer themselves fully to their grieving clients with therapeutic presence, they nourish a safe and profound relationship conducive to clients’ growth in therapy.
Suffering is universal, and death and loss are inevitable. In grief counseling, therapeutic presence bolsters the expression of acceptance, openness, receptiveness, and warmth. Discomfort surrounding death and non-death related losses (e.g., relationships, jobs, functioning) can block healing, especially when therapists feel pressure to fix something that cannot be fixed. When therapists approach grief and loss with presence, it allows clients to feel safe and supported on a neurophysiological level. In this context, presence is at the core of healing in grief counseling.
This module will involve (a) a didactic approach to understanding therapeutic presence, and (b) experiential practices for therapists to cultivate therapeutic presence and self-compassion and work with the challenges to remaining present with clients’ suffering from grief and loss. An empirically validated model of therapeutic presence will be presented as a map to build and strengthen the skills of presence within self and with clients. There will be an exploration of the neurophysiological principles to create safety with therapeutic presence, based on concepts such as co-regulation and neuroception of safety stemming from the Polyvagal Theory (Geller & Porges, 2014). Key mindfulness and self-compassion practices will be shared to help therapists cultivate presence and work through barriers to presence that may get in the way of meeting and supporting clients experience of grief and loss.
