Published : 2026-09-25

The Teacher’s Therapeutic Presence as a Response to the Challenges of Contemporary Schooling. Inspirations from Gestalt Psychotherapy and Pedagogy

Abstract

The digital reality, the crisis of moral values, and the erosion of social relations are factors that adversely affect pupils’ mental health, with increasing numbers experiencing loneliness, anxiety, and depression. A pressing challenge for contemporary schools is to place particular emphasis on pupils’ emotional, social, and psychological development. In this context, the role of the teacher as an empathetic figure capable of building close, supportive relationships with pupils is gaining significance. The aim of this article is to explain the essence of the teacher’s therapeutic presence in the educational process, inspired by the principles of Gestalt psychotherapy and pedagogy. The text discusses relational and personal dispositions that constitute the teacher’s therapeutic presence, including attentiveness, self-awareness, authenticity, the ability to remain in contact in the “here and now”, empathy, and emotional closeness, and highlights their importance in fostering “healing” relationships with pupils. The article also presents the conditions and possibilities for developing a stance of therapeutic presence among teachers.

Keywords:

teacher, Gestalt pedagogy, therapeutic presence, therapeutic skills



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Roczniki Pedagogiczne · ISSN 2080-850X | eISSN 2544-5243 · DOI: 10.18290/rped
© Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL & Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II

Articles are licensed under a Creative Commons  Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)