The Present Moment in Psychotherapy and Everyday Life

While most psychotherapies agree that therapeutic work in the 'here and now' has the greatest power to bring about change, few if any books have ever addressed the problem of what 'here and now' actually means.

Beginning with the claim that we are psychologically alive only in the now, internationally acclaimed child psychiatrist Daniel N. Stern tackles vexing yet fascinating questions such as: what is the nature of 'nowness'? How is 'now' experienced between two people? What do present moments have to do with therapeutic growth and change?

Certain moments of shared immediate experience, such as a knowing glance across a dinner table, are paradigmatic of what Stern shows to be the core of human experience, the 3 to 5 seconds he identifies as 'the present moment.' By placing the present moment at the center of psychotherapy, Stern alters our ideas about how therapeutic change occurs, and about what is significant in therapy. As much a meditation on the problems of memory and experience as it is a call to appreciate every moment of experience, The Present Moment is a must-read for all who are interested in the latest thinking about human experience.

Customer Reviews:

Helpful but rushed

By Charlie Sandover "Sandover" - September 5, 2004

The hardback edition of this book is filled to the limit with spelling and gramatical errors; who edited it? The sloppiness takes away from an interesting, if occasionally dull, perspective about how change occurs in small moments of shifting awareness of self and other. Stern seems unsure of his audience and so his book falls somewhere between being suitable for the general reader or geared towards the professional.

Difficult to read

By Dormidont - November 29, 2010

The book is very dense and difficult to understand. The title is very appealing but the content of the book is very intellectual. When I bought the book I was looking for practical ideas to focus on the present moment in psychotherapy. It was difficult for me to stay engaged and interested. I resorted to flipping pages then giving up on it.

good for psychoterapist

By Geraldo Costa - March 30, 2013

Although a bit Philosophical the book is a good tool for psychotherapists.
I would recommend for those who are working with families, mothers and their babies.