Hour of the Heart

After some six decades of therapeutic practice and writing, I learned in a new and meaningful way how we humans - whether we're in the cool, distanced medium of Zoom, or in the heat of real life - can create a startlingly honest and heartfelt connection that in a single hour can change one's life.What does the 'father of group therapy' do at age 90, when he is still advising patients in the therapy sessions which have been his life's work, and yet, must face his increasing frailties, and even his own mortality? Rather than melt into retirement, instead, Dr Yalom develops another revolutionary approach. In HOUR OF THE HEART, Dr Yalom captures profound moments with his patients, which happen in the span of just one hour, with people he will never see again. Taking place over two years before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in the midst of Dr Yalom's grief over losing his wife, these one-time sessions would, as Dr Yalom writes, "help to sustain my client and would profoundly alter my vision of what psychotherapy can do."For those who love reading stories of human connection, for therapists and for those in training, and for any fans of Dr Yalom's work, HOUR OF THE HEART is a collection of deeply moving personal stories which will tap into how powerful authentic human connection can be. While these one-hour sessions are, in many cases, just the start of these patients' journeys, Dr Yalom's insights, and his willingness to open himself up to his patients in a way rarely seen in therapy, are truly illuminating.