Healing presence: An intuitive inquiry into the presence of the psychotherapis

This study explored the presence of the psychotherapist by distilling common themes, words, and qualities across multi-disciplinary writings concerning presence, which were then reviewed by a group of advanced psychotherapists for accuracy. At the start of the study, presence was defined as a collection of qualities of the therapist's way of being. The hermeneutically informed method of intuitive inquiry was used to shape successive cycles of interpretation, from choosing the topic through the interpretation of data. The distilled description and model of presence was reviewed by an exemplar group of 5 male and 7 female European-American advanced clinicians who ranged in age from 48 to 70, and had experienced presence as clients in psychotherapy. Participants used the principle of sympathetic resonance to identify accurate elements of presence and to suggest revisions to the initial distillation. The original distillation elements receiving the most support were: (a) Alignment with the Client, (b) Attentional Ability, (c) Integration and Congruence, (d) Inner Awareness, (e) Spiritual Practice and Belief, and (f) Receptivity. Strong emergent themes were: (a) Commitment to Personal Growth, (b) Kinesthetic Aspects of Presence, and (c) Seasoning. Numerous elements received low to no support and were omitted from the Final Distillation. The results suggest that this constellation of qualities refer to a highly specific type of presence, and the recommendation is made to call it "healing presence." Final distilled elements were placed into 3 groupings: (a) development and growth, (b) attentional qualities, and (c) therapeutic alliance. This three-fold grouping was discussed in light of training therapists and the implications for transpersonal psychology.