Therapy | Human Connection

Why Attunement is More Than Just Empathy: A Psychobiological Approach

Exploring a basic human need, a need that is foundational for authenticity and healing

Photo by Ion Fet on Unsplash

Emily had tried therapy before.

And before that… And before that…

Each time, she left feeling like something was missing.

“I’m tired of therapists trying to fix me,”

She said one rainy Thursday morning.

“I’m not just some giant toolbox. I want to understand my feelings. I want someone to sit with me in them.”

That day, something shifted. There wasn’t a rush to fix, label, or reassure. Instead, there was a focus on slowing down the breath, softening the face, and simply being present, one moment at a time.

And Emily felt it:

Someone finally got her — not by fixing, but by feeling with her in real time.

It wasn’t just empathy, it was attunement.

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