In the view of some, there are times when the integration of the necessary and sufficient conditions leads to another, ‘transformational’ quality known as ‘presence’

Over the years, there have been indications from some person-centred writers that there are times in the therapy session when there is a kind of peak experience, transforming both client and therapist. In his later years, Rogers (in Kirschenbaum and Henderson 1990a: 137) described this quality and named it ‘presence’. He wrote:

Rogers indicates that presence is a medium for personal growth and that it is a self-transcending aspect of therapy. Thorne (1991:  73-81) tells of something very similar and uses the expression ‘the quality of tenderness’ to describe the active principle of transformation. Both Rogers and Thorne indicate that there is a transcendental, spiritual or mystical dimension to this quality. While no way denying this, Schmid (1998a: 82)  identifies presence with encounter

to the requirement for contact/psychological contact and (pp. 198-199) states that presence ‘is the proper term for the “core conditions” in their interconnectedness as the [original emphasis] way of being and acting of the therapist’. Schmid’s view can be seen as emphasising ‘presence’ as the (inevitable?) outcome of high-quality attention in the therapeutic endeavour.