Dr EmmaSwales is a UKCP-registered psychotherapist and supervisor with over 25 years'experience of supporting people through trauma recovery. She worked in thedomestic violence sector for many years, and later for a Leeds-based mentalhealth charity before qualifying as a psychotherapist in 2011. Her specialityand research interests are the bodily held experience of attachment,relationship, and early developmental trauma, and how we can overcomedifference, build connection and create protective relationships. She is basedin rural North Yorkshire, where she loves to go for long walks with her big,beautiful, stroppy Lurcher, Mouse.

'Emma Swales' Moments of Love is an absolute gem of a book that offers a way to conceptualise and consider love within a therapeutic context. I love her comment that "one of the important things that happens in therapy is moments of love". It is a hopeful testimony to a very human and humane phenomenon, moments of love in the navigation of relational therapy. This should be essential reading for student practitioners, for those working in the therapy professions, for supervisors and for those training the next generation of practitioners. It's so important that our professions can fluently talk about moments of love. A brilliant book, buy it!'Dr Lynne Gabriel OBE, Professor of Counselling & Mental Health, York St John University; President, British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy'I sincerely hope this book will be required reading on all therapy training courses. Its subtitle is 'embodied attunement in the therapeutic relationship', but its scope is far wider and can apply to all our relationships. The author has navigated a tricky course - the word 'love' carries a lot of baggage - yet throughout her writing is well researched, cogent, compassionate and brave. I could quote lots from it but here is one sentence: "Love does not belong in the shadow side of therapy, it needs light and air: to be seen and understood from every angle, so we can use it as a resource to heal, rather than a shameful secret". Thank you, Emma, for an important contribution to the therapeutic literature.'Robin Shohet, trainer and author of several books including In Love with Supervision'Weaving together neuroscience, attachment theory, spirituality, perspectives from different psychotherapies, thoughts on the therapeutic relationship and, especially the embodied experience of the therapist, Emma Swales writes accessibly on a complex topic. We are taken with her on an exploratory journey as she navigates her themes. She gives us moments for pause and reflection with useful boxes with key points in each chapter. She sees love arising in moments of embodied, and synchronised, attunement in psychotherapy. For her, love is not eroticised and is safe; it is akin to agape, and the energy of the life force. These moments of love are fleeting, and yet they are the key ingredient in the therapeutic relationship and powerfully healing. Although she does not shy away from providing us with some methods to try out and gives case examples, love surpasses any technique or theory.'Gill Westland, body psychotherapist, author of Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication in Body Psychotherapy'This is a feast of a book that brings together ideas from psychotherapy, neuroscience, philosophy, trauma studies, neurodivergence, child development, clinical work, and above all an exploration of what Emma Swales calls "moments of love" - those moments between client and therapist where a real authentic meeting of minds and hearts happens and there is nothing but that glorious moment of warm, mutual understanding and connection. Swales unpacks those moments and explores them in depth and yet with such a light touch she often made me smile.For trainees, Moments of Love is a really useful theoretical and methodological support for their development and understanding of using themselves in the best way; for experienced therapists a treasure trove of ideas, viewpoints, nuggets of new theory and persuasive research, and for everyone above all a validation of what we know in our hearts.'Professor Charlotte Sills, psychotherapist, coach and supervisor in independent practice and Hult Ashridge Education'Love is a highly significant dimension of human experience, whose presence or absence shapes the lives of all of us. Moments of Love explores how love can occur in the context of the work of being a psychotherapist, and what it means for the process of therapy. This book offers a thoughtful, careful and well-informed reflection on the extensive literature on this phenomenon. It is essential reading for counsellors and psychotherapists at any stage in their professional journey and career.'John McLeod, Emeritus Professor of Counselling, Abertay University

• Foreword byProfessor Andrew ReevesPrefaceIntroductionPART 1 -UNDERSTANDING LOVE IN THERAPY1 Love intherapy - an overview2Understanding change in the therapeutic relationship 3 Moments oflove in therapy 4 How ourbodies relate to each other 5 Embodiedattunement and neurological synchrony PART 2 -ADVERSITY AND NEURODIVERGENCE6 How traumaaffects our ability to connect7 Synchrony,asynchrony and neurodivergencePART 3 - THETHERAPIST8 Personaltherapy for therapists9 Theembodied experience of the therapist10 Embodimentand love in training and supervision Conclusion

Dr EmmaSwales is a UKCP-registered psychotherapist and supervisor with over 25 years'experience of supporting people through trauma recovery. She worked in thedomestic violence sector for many years, and later for a Leeds-based mentalhealth charity before qualifying as a psychotherapist in 2011. Her specialityand research interests are the bodily held experience of attachment,relationship, and early developmental trauma, and how we can overcomedifference, build connection and create protective relationships. She is basedin rural North Yorkshire, where she loves to go for long walks with her big,beautiful, stroppy Lurcher, Mouse.

'Emma Swales' Moments of Love is an absolute gem of a book that offers a way to conceptualise and consider love within a therapeutic context. I love her comment that "one of the important things that happens in therapy is moments of love". It is a hopeful testimony to a very human and humane phenomenon, moments of love in the navigation of relational therapy. This should be essential reading for student practitioners, for those working in the therapy professions, for supervisors and for those training the next generation of practitioners. It's so important that our professions can fluently talk about moments of love. A brilliant book, buy it!'Dr Lynne Gabriel OBE, Professor of Counselling & Mental Health, York St John University; President, British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy'I sincerely hope this book will be required reading on all therapy training courses. Its subtitle is 'embodied attunement in the therapeutic relationship', but its scope is far wider and can apply to all our relationships. The author has navigated a tricky course - the word 'love' carries a lot of baggage - yet throughout her writing is well researched, cogent, compassionate and brave. I could quote lots from it but here is one sentence: "Love does not belong in the shadow side of therapy, it needs light and air: to be seen and understood from every angle, so we can use it as a resource to heal, rather than a shameful secret". Thank you, Emma, for an important contribution to the therapeutic literature.'Robin Shohet, trainer and author of several books including In Love with Supervision'Weaving together neuroscience, attachment theory, spirituality, perspectives from different psychotherapies, thoughts on the therapeutic relationship and, especially the embodied experience of the therapist, Emma Swales writes accessibly on a complex topic. We are taken with her on an exploratory journey as she navigates her themes. She gives us moments for pause and reflection with useful boxes with key points in each chapter. She sees love arising in moments of embodied, and synchronised, attunement in psychotherapy. For her, love is not eroticised and is safe; it is akin to agape, and the energy of the life force. These moments of love are fleeting, and yet they are the key ingredient in the therapeutic relationship and powerfully healing. Although she does not shy away from providing us with some methods to try out and gives case examples, love surpasses any technique or theory.'Gill Westland, body psychotherapist, author of Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication in Body Psychotherapy'This is a feast of a book that brings together ideas from psychotherapy, neuroscience, philosophy, trauma studies, neurodivergence, child development, clinical work, and above all an exploration of what Emma Swales calls "moments of love" - those moments between client and therapist where a real authentic meeting of minds and hearts happens and there is nothing but that glorious moment of warm, mutual understanding and connection. Swales unpacks those moments and explores them in depth and yet with such a light touch she often made me smile.For trainees, Moments of Love is a really useful theoretical and methodological support for their development and understanding of using themselves in the best way; for experienced therapists a treasure trove of ideas, viewpoints, nuggets of new theory and persuasive research, and for everyone above all a validation of what we know in our hearts.'Professor Charlotte Sills, psychotherapist, coach and supervisor in independent practice and Hult Ashridge Education'Love is a highly significant dimension of human experience, whose presence or absence shapes the lives of all of us. Moments of Love explores how love can occur in the context of the work of being a psychotherapist, and what it means for the process of therapy. This book offers a thoughtful, careful and well-informed reflection on the extensive literature on this phenomenon. It is essential reading for counsellors and psychotherapists at any stage in their professional journey and career.'John McLeod, Emeritus Professor of Counselling, Abertay University

• Foreword byProfessor Andrew ReevesPrefaceIntroductionPART 1 -UNDERSTANDING LOVE IN THERAPY1 Love intherapy - an overview2Understanding change in the therapeutic relationship 3 Moments oflove in therapy 4 How ourbodies relate to each other 5 Embodiedattunement and neurological synchrony PART 2 -ADVERSITY AND NEURODIVERGENCE6 How traumaaffects our ability to connect7 Synchrony,asynchrony and neurodivergencePART 3 - THETHERAPIST8 Personaltherapy for therapists9 Theembodied experience of the therapist10 Embodimentand love in training and supervision Conclusion

Dr EmmaSwales is a UKCP-registered psychotherapist and supervisor with over 25 years'experience of supporting people through trauma recovery. She worked in thedomestic violence sector for many years, and later for a Leeds-based mentalhealth charity before qualifying as a psychotherapist in 2011. Her specialityand research interests are the bodily held experience of attachment,relationship, and early developmental trauma, and how we can overcomedifference, build connection and create protective relationships. She is basedin rural North Yorkshire, where she loves to go for long walks with her big,beautiful, stroppy Lurcher, Mouse.

'Emma Swales' Moments of Love is an absolute gem of a book that offers a way to conceptualise and consider love within a therapeutic context. I love her comment that "one of the important things that happens in therapy is moments of love". It is a hopeful testimony to a very human and humane phenomenon, moments of love in the navigation of relational therapy. This should be essential reading for student practitioners, for those working in the therapy professions, for supervisors and for those training the next generation of practitioners. It's so important that our professions can fluently talk about moments of love. A brilliant book, buy it!'Dr Lynne Gabriel OBE, Professor of Counselling & Mental Health, York St John University; President, British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy'I sincerely hope this book will be required reading on all therapy training courses. Its subtitle is 'embodied attunement in the therapeutic relationship', but its scope is far wider and can apply to all our relationships. The author has navigated a tricky course - the word 'love' carries a lot of baggage - yet throughout her writing is well researched, cogent, compassionate and brave. I could quote lots from it but here is one sentence: "Love does not belong in the shadow side of therapy, it needs light and air: to be seen and understood from every angle, so we can use it as a resource to heal, rather than a shameful secret". Thank you, Emma, for an important contribution to the therapeutic literature.'Robin Shohet, trainer and author of several books including In Love with Supervision'Weaving together neuroscience, attachment theory, spirituality, perspectives from different psychotherapies, thoughts on the therapeutic relationship and, especially the embodied experience of the therapist, Emma Swales writes accessibly on a complex topic. We are taken with her on an exploratory journey as she navigates her themes. She gives us moments for pause and reflection with useful boxes with key points in each chapter. She sees love arising in moments of embodied, and synchronised, attunement in psychotherapy. For her, love is not eroticised and is safe; it is akin to agape, and the energy of the life force. These moments of love are fleeting, and yet they are the key ingredient in the therapeutic relationship and powerfully healing. Although she does not shy away from providing us with some methods to try out and gives case examples, love surpasses any technique or theory.'Gill Westland, body psychotherapist, author of Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication in Body Psychotherapy'This is a feast of a book that brings together ideas from psychotherapy, neuroscience, philosophy, trauma studies, neurodivergence, child development, clinical work, and above all an exploration of what Emma Swales calls "moments of love" - those moments between client and therapist where a real authentic meeting of minds and hearts happens and there is nothing but that glorious moment of warm, mutual understanding and connection. Swales unpacks those moments and explores them in depth and yet with such a light touch she often made me smile.For trainees, Moments of Love is a really useful theoretical and methodological support for their development and understanding of using themselves in the best way; for experienced therapists a treasure trove of ideas, viewpoints, nuggets of new theory and persuasive research, and for everyone above all a validation of what we know in our hearts.'Professor Charlotte Sills, psychotherapist, coach and supervisor in independent practice and Hult Ashridge Education'Love is a highly significant dimension of human experience, whose presence or absence shapes the lives of all of us. Moments of Love explores how love can occur in the context of the work of being a psychotherapist, and what it means for the process of therapy. This book offers a thoughtful, careful and well-informed reflection on the extensive literature on this phenomenon. It is essential reading for counsellors and psychotherapists at any stage in their professional journey and career.'John McLeod, Emeritus Professor of Counselling, Abertay University

• Foreword byProfessor Andrew ReevesPrefaceIntroductionPART 1 -UNDERSTANDING LOVE IN THERAPY1 Love intherapy - an overview2Understanding change in the therapeutic relationship 3 Moments oflove in therapy 4 How ourbodies relate to each other 5 Embodiedattunement and neurological synchrony PART 2 -ADVERSITY AND NEURODIVERGENCE6 How traumaaffects our ability to connect7 Synchrony,asynchrony and neurodivergencePART 3 - THETHERAPIST8 Personaltherapy for therapists9 Theembodied experience of the therapist10 Embodimentand love in training and supervision Conclusion