--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Perhaps the real therapy occurred at the…" description: "\"“Perhaps the real therapy occurred at the deathbed scene, when they moved into honesty with the revelation that they were fellow travelers, both simply..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/irvin-d-yalom-1519_deathbed_perhaps-the-real-therapy-occurred-at-the_2731547.png" --- # Perhaps the real therapy occurred at the deathbed scene… ![“Perhaps the real therapy occurred at the deathbed scene, when they moved into honesty with the revelation that they were fellow travelers, both simply human, all too human.” quote by Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/irvin-d-yalom-1519_deathbed_perhaps-the-real-therapy-occurred-at-the_2731547.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/irvin-d-yalom-1519_deathbed_perhaps-the-real-therapy-occurred-at-the_2731547.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/irvin-d-yalom-1519_deathbed_perhaps-the-real-therapy-occurred-at-the_2731547.png) > ““Perhaps the real therapy occurred at the deathbed scene, when they moved into honesty with the revelation that they were fellow travelers, both simply human, all too human.”” [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Therapy can become genuine when participants share honest, human connections, recognizing shared vulnerability. **In simple terms:** Honesty and shared humanity heal. Key Takeaway Embrace openness with others. Themes therapy humanity honesty connection Mood reflective empathetic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - counseling sessions - support groups - friendship - conflict resolution Key Concepts existential psychotherapy shared vulnerability Questions to Reflect On - What does honesty cost in relationships? - How can vulnerability be balanced with self‑protection? A Different Perspective May idealize honesty, ignoring necessary boundaries. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deathbed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deathbed/) [Fellow travelers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fellow-travelers/) [Mental health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-health/) ## Related quotes > [The main interest of my work is not concerned with the treatment of neuroses but rather with the approach to the numinous. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-main-interest-of-my-work-is-not-concerned-with-the-treatment-of/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [“The challenge for us is to realise our unity with all life, and even with the inanimate world around us. The seas with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brazier/the-challenge-for-us-is-to-realise-our-unity-with-all-life-and-even/) David Brazier > [The problem is, I don't think I've got too much to offer at the minute. I'm busy working on myself. This sounds like real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbie-williams/the-problem-is-i-don-t-think-i-ve-got-too-much-to-offer-at-the-minute/) [Robbie Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbie-williams/) > [I think there is some real therapy in getting your hands in the dirt and working with food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-tester/i-think-there-is-some-real-therapy-in-getting-your-hands-in-the-dirt/) [Jon Tester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-tester/) > [Writing is my therapy. In addition to my real therapy. God knows where I'd be without it. I'd probably still be at my last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-lawson/writing-is-my-therapy-in-addition-to-my-real-therapy-god-knows-where/) [Jenny Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-lawson/) > [Every time I do an interview, it's like serious therapy. But real therapy isn't something that I'd ever have. I feel fortunate that mentally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-blunt/every-time-i-do-an-interview-it-s-like-serious-therapy-but-real/) [James Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-blunt/) > [“Enough of this ruminatory bullshit,” Sargent said. “You’d think I had a crystal ball, knew the future. You’d think thee roads couldn’t still fork…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bain/enough-of-this-ruminatory-bullshit-sargent-said-you-d-think-i-had-a/) [David Bain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bain/) > [The doubters are always more blessed than the mere fellow travelers in faith. For they are the only ones who fully learn that their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmut-thielicke/the-doubters-are-always-more-blessed-than-the-mere-fellow-travelers/) [Helmut Thielicke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmut-thielicke/) > [The scientific approach uncovers, that Communism does not eliminate the inequality between men, the social injustice, exploitation of man by man and other evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-zinoviev/the-scientific-approach-uncovers-that-communism-does-not-eliminate/) Alexander Zinoviev > [“Like God, you hover above the page staring down on a small town. Outside a window some scenery loafs in a sleepy hammock of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-emanuel/like-god-you-hover-above-the-page-staring-down-on-a-small-town/) [Lynn Emanuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-emanuel/) > [I have often been reminded of the wild duck that came down on migration into a barnyard and liked it so well that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/i-have-often-been-reminded-of-the-wild-duck-that-came-down-on/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [Nest of Soviet fellow travelers clacking busybodies in a Soviet jellyfish front, sitting here in Leesburg oozing out their funny little propaganda and making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-larouche/nest-of-soviet-fellow-travelers-clacking-busybodies-in-a-soviet/) [Lyndon LaRouche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-larouche/) > [“A few weeks later, in the middle of a cold December night, the pair, along with 247 other radicals, were herded onto a freighter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcgrath-morris/a-few-weeks-later-in-the-middle-of-a-cold-december-night-the-pair/) [James McGrath Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcgrath-morris/) > [Life is perfect for none of us. Rather than being judgmental and critical of each other, may we have the pure love of Christ…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/life-is-perfect-for-none-of-us-rather-than-being-judgmental-and/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [“You are not special. You're just fucking not. You're a bland, boring motherfucker just like everybody else. You ever been to the mall and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-j-kirk/you-are-not-special-you-re-just-fucking-not-you-re-a-bland-boring/) [T.J. Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-j-kirk/) ## More by Irvin D. Yalom > [“ALAS, IF ALL HUMANS WERE WISE AND HAD MORE GOOD WILL THE WORLD WOULD BE A PARADISE NOW IT IS MOSTLY A HELL”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/alas-if-all-humans-were-wise-and-had-more-good-will-the-world-would/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [I dream of a love that is more than two people craving to possess one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/i-dream-of-a-love-that-is-more-than-two-people-craving-to-possess-one/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“Ümitsizlik özfarkındalık uğruna ödenen bedeldir.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/mitsizlik-zfark-ndal-k-u-runa-denen-bedeldir/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [Therapists need to have a long experience in personal therapy to see what it's like to be on the other side of the couch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/therapists-need-to-have-a-long-experience-in-personal-therapy-to-see/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“Beginning therapists must learn that there are times to sit in silence, sometimes in silent communion, sometimes simply while waiting for patients' thoughts to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/beginning-therapists-must-learn-that-there-are-times-to-sit-in/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [If one is to learn to live with the dead, one must first learn to live with the living!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/if-one-is-to-learn-to-live-with-the-dead-one-must-first-learn-to-live/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [Specialness as a primary mode of death transcendence takes a number of other maladaptive forms. The drive for power is not uncommonly motivated by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/specialness-as-a-primary-mode-of-death-transcendence-takes-a-number/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“Exactly. We know that the great Goethe carried a copy of Spinoza’s Ethics in his pocket for a year. Imagine that—an entire year! And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/exactly-we-know-that-the-great-goethe-carried-a-copy-of-spinoza-s/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“Hope is the worst of evils because it protracts torment.” “Your”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/hope-is-the-worst-of-evils-because-it-protracts-torment-your/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [Mature love is loving, not being loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/mature-love-is-loving-not-being-loved/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [Absolute power, as we have always known, corrupts absolutely; it corrupts because it does not do the trick for the individual. Reality always creeps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/absolute-power-as-we-have-always-known-corrupts-absolutely-it/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“Indeed, the capacity to tolerate uncertainty is a prerequisite for the profession. Though the public may believe that therapists guide patients systematically and sure-handedly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/indeed-the-capacity-to-tolerate-uncertainty-is-a-prerequisite-for-the/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“Rollo May quipped that anxiety about nothing tries to become anxiety about something. In other words, anxiety about nothingness quickly attaches itself to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/rollo-may-quipped-that-anxiety-about-nothing-tries-to-become-anxiety/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“I often urge patients to project themselves into the future and to consider how they can live now so that five years hence they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/i-often-urge-patients-to-project-themselves-into-the-future-and-to/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [When people don't have any curiosity about themselves, that is always a bad sign.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/when-people-don-t-have-any-curiosity-about-themselves-that-is-always/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) [Explore all 184 Irvin D. Yalom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) ## More Deathbed quotes > [“I shall stay here as long as I may, I don't want to think — I needn't think. I don't care for anything but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-shall-stay-here-as-long-as-i-may-i-don-t-want-to-think-i-needn-t/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [When I'm on my deathbed, I'll hopefully be able to count more friends than parts that I had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-lea/when-i-m-on-my-deathbed-i-ll-hopefully-be-able-to-count-more-friends/) [Nicholas Lea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-lea/) > [And I hope that you die And your death'll come soon I will follow your casket In the pale afternoon And I'll watch while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/and-i-hope-that-you-die-and-your-death-ll-come-soon-i-will-follow/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I do seem to favor a deathbed confession as the occasion for my dramatic monologues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-do-seem-to-favor-a-deathbed-confession-as-the-occasion-for-my/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [I feel nothing, apart from a certain difficulty in continuing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-le-bovier-de-fontenelle/i-feel-nothing-apart-from-a-certain-difficulty-in-continuing-to-exist/) [Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-le-bovier-de-fontenelle/) > [When we die our money, fame, and honors will be meaningless. We own nothing in this world. Everything we think we own is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-huffington/when-we-die-our-money-fame-and-honors-will-be-meaningless-we-own/) [Michael Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-huffington/) > [There's a little book I'm thinking of writing - "Swan Song" is what I shall call it. The song of the dying. And my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxim-gorky/there-s-a-little-book-i-m-thinking-of-writing-swan-song-is-what-i/) [Maxim Gorky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxim-gorky/) > [At the end of our life, we ought to be able to look back over it from our deathbed and know somehow the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-ehrmann/at-the-end-of-our-life-we-ought-to-be-able-to-look-back-over-it-from/) [Joe Ehrmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-ehrmann/) > [W. C. Fields, a lifetime agnostic, was discovered reading a Bible on his deathbed. ''I'm looking for a loop-hole,'' he explained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/w-c-fields-a-lifetime-agnostic-was-discovered-reading-a-bible-on-his/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [“Prologue   May 24th, 1543 Frombork, Poland 1015 hours   The man lay on his deathbed waiting for the sweet release into nothingness. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-pauletti/prologue-may-24th-1543-frombork-poland-1015-hours-the-man-lay-on-his/) Vincent Pauletti > [“Many people don’t realize until they are on their deathbed and everything external falls away that no thing ever had anything to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/many-people-don-t-realize-until-they-are-on-their-deathbed-and/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“When i'm 58 years old and on my deathbed, i'd better see through my one good eye Matt drawing a donger on my forehead,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-zdarsky/when-i-m-58-years-old-and-on-my-deathbed-i-d-better-see-through-my/) Chip Zdarsky > [“And just as in life, if a man imagines himself on his deathbed and then works back through the years of his life, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adriana-trigiani/and-just-as-in-life-if-a-man-imagines-himself-on-his-deathbed-and/) [Adriana Trigiani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adriana-trigiani/) > [“...nothing more excruciating when you are fighting for your life than to have healthy people round you, squabbling over futilities. Who do you love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p/nothing-more-excruciating-when-you-are-fighting-for-your-life-than-to/) A.P > [“Obitus vitae otium est (Death is life's rest).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-junger/obitus-vitae-otium-est-death-is-life-s-rest/) [Ernst Jünger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-junger/) [Browse all 168 Deathbed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deathbed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Perhaps the real therapy occurred at the deathbed scene, when they moved into honesty with the revelation that they were fellow travelers, both simply human, all too human.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Irvin D. 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