Rhythmic Attunement and Embodied Empathy in Supervision

This article focuses on how rhythmic attunement and embodied empathy is applied in supervision. Key concepts of rhythm as it relates to developmental theories of attachment, flow states, interpersonal and limbic resonance found in the nervous system are reviewed to create a framework for application to supervision. Embodied awareness through attunement to breath and how bodily sensations can elicit insights into the underlying rhythms that have formed from life events, inherited family structures, and environmental resonances are reviewed. Understanding therapist reactions to clients, that might be in the way of forming an empathic embodied response is discussed, including how involvement in art-based activities as an embodied bottom-up experience, can heighten awareness to what is occurring internally based on the nervous system’s rhythmic response. Emphasis is on how clinicians can enhance their feeling and sensing the rhythms of individuals, groups and communities, bringing deeper insights into what those they work with are experiencing, which can then lead to a greater sense of embodied empathy. • The article reviews how attunement and embodied empathy are applied in supervision. • The article reviews key concepts of rhythm in relation to attachment theory. • Flow states and limbic resonance are reviewed to develop a supervisory framework. • The article explores therapists' reactions that may hinder empathic/embodied responses. • The article explains how clinicians can sense rhythms of individuals, groups, and communities.