Reflections on Irvin Yalom’s: Hour of the Heart
- jeremyvernon
- Feb 9
- 2 min read
Recently, I read Irvin Yalom’s newest book, Hour of the Heart: Connecting in the Here and Now. I’ve enjoyed Yalom’s books for a long time, particularly appreciating his open, deeply connected, and deliberately "present" stance toward therapy. His manner of writing and how he describes therapy feels like permission—to other therapists—to allow themselves to be more present as well.
Yalom has long been known for his existential approach to therapy, emphasizing themes of mortality, freedom, isolation, and meaning. In earlier works like Love’s Executioner and The Gift of Therapy, he examined the therapist’s role in fostering deep, authentic connections and embracing the uncertainties of life. In Hour of the Heart, he explores how the steady loss of his memory as he ages has made it impossible for him to engage in ongoing therapy work with patients. Instead, he offers ‘one-off’ individual sessions, shifting his focus to what can be accomplished in a single encounter. The book then examines a sort of intensified form of the here-and-now: only one session is available, so the connection must be immediate and the work contained within a brief window of time.
One of the most striking aspects of Yalom’s approach in this book is his emphasis on therapist self-disclosure. His ideas here are useful for thinking about and examining the therapy relationship, but they also demand careful consideration from the individual therapist. How much or in what way this kind of approach fits into their own practice must be weighed thoughtfully, taking into account the therapist's style and what would be felt as appropriate by the patient. He discusses his willingness to share more about himself—his aging, his personal history, even his vulnerabilities—in a way that deepens the therapeutic connection. In an unconventional move, he also experiments with inviting the patient to ask him questions, flipping the traditional structure of the session and allowing for a more mutual exchange.
What I took from the book was more reflection on the nature of therapist-patient connection: what the therapist brings to the experience, what is possible in very short times, and how we hold space for meaning even when time is limited. Yalom’s reflections reinforce the idea that therapy is not just about technique, but about presence, authenticity, and human connection.
For any therapist who has felt constrained by conventional models of therapy, or who has questioned how much can really be achieved in a short interaction, Hour of the Heart provides both inspiration and reassurance. It is a reminder that sometimes, the depth of the moment matters more than the length of the treatment.
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