As an Adjunct Professor in the MFT Program at the University of San Francisco, this is a question I am often asked by students. Many clinicians enter this incredible, and at times challenging, field with an eagerness to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others. Often students and clinicians new to the field cannot wait to jump in and do the work, often overlooking the value and importance of being exactly where they are in their own journey. Many graduate MFT programs provide students with the foundational knowledge of clinical theory, essential micro-skills, and later through students’ practicum/traineeship sites, ways to practice their clinical setting. Most of the time, students are so eager to arrive at the finish line that they often forget the richness of what it means to be a student, and the value of presence.
As a clinician who has worked in the field of Mental Health for over 20 years, the concept of presence and all that it includes, is one that I have recently come to appreciate. Presence, for me, is the purposeful practice of being aware and focused with the sole intention of understanding. As a student, the first step in understanding the information and knowledge offered in class is being present. Presence, for students, includes the active practice of learning, engaging with the information being offered through coursework, discussions, and lectures, while critically thinking about how it connects to the students mental, emotional, and physical being. How does what I am learning in class help me foster my own identity as a clinician? How can I apply the information I am learning to my own life, to clinical practice? What makes sense to me, what doesn’t land?
The practice of learning how to be present does not end as a student. Itis a practice that carries with us as both a new and seasoned clinician. Clinical presence allows the clinician the opportunity to learn how to be in the moment with their client, how to focus on the information being shared by the client, how to understand the material from the client’s perspective, and how the therapeutic relationship can help support growth and change.
The value, understanding, and importance of presence is one that I would encourage anyone starting out on the MFT path to practice. Learning the value of being where you are, in that moment in time, taking in the information being offered, and critically thinking about it is a foundational skill.
Hamaseh Kianfar, LMFT, Ed.D. has worked with the criminal justice department, psychiatric emergency, and in community mental health for over 18 years. In addition, she is a trained facilitator in a number of curricula, including Parenting from the Inside Out, Thinking for a Change, Seeking Safety, Criminal conduct and substance abuse, and Anger Management. Hamaseh currently works as a Licensed Behavioral Health Practitioner for the County of Marin's Behavioral Health and Human Services and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of San Francisco.
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