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.