A deeply moving and revealing chronicle from one of the most prominent psychotherapists of our
time of working under wholly new circumstances and the challenges and breakthroughs he's made
as he takes on patients for one hour one time only. Facing memory loss at age 93 as well as
the fallout from a pandemic that moved much of daily life online legendary psychotherapist and
bestselling author Irvin Yalom was forced to vastly reconsider the shape of his sessions with
patients. But rather than throw in the towel in the face of change Dr Yalom considered the
limitations imposed by these new realities head on and revolutionized his practice. Dr Yalom
wondered if perhaps his own practice could focus deeply on the work that could be achieved in a
one-hour one-time meeting between patient and practitioner-employing an even more concerted
use of his "here and now" approach. As he began these one-time sessions the beloved veteran
therapist found himself freed to reach ever deeper places with new patients on a shortened
timeline without the buffer of future appointments. In HOUR OF THE HEART Yalom recounts some
of these intense life-changing consultations exploring an array of human predicaments and
his own late-career development as a therapist. In recounting these consultations he shows how
a therapist's willingness to be open themselves helps the patient let down their own guard
leading to a deeper and more immediate connection-one necessary to achieve profound
realizations in just sixty minutes. Life is precious and our time together short. HOUR OF THE
HEART shows us how to relate to each other better in the moment with more honesty and
vulnerability. That hour of connection occurring during a time of isolation and grief for so
many helped to sustain both patient and therapist and enriched Yalom's vision of what
psychotherapy can do. This transformative account of a new way of connecting and sharing is for
all of us looking to build relationships with greater immediacy authenticity and openness-in
every area of life.
