The healing process of presence.

Therapeutic relationships help provide the milieu for the nurse and the patient to gain insights into the essence of disease and the nature of healing. In building a foundation on which to be in optimally responsive relationships, nurses at Riverside Methodist Hospitals in Columbus, Ohio, participate in a 2-day course that explores and names how we bring ourselves as gifts to others as well as to ourselves in the dynamic of therapeutic presence. The following article reviews the literature on presence, provides a course description and contents on presence, and assists nurses in incorporating principles of presence into nursing practice.