This is the question Eric Bergemann asks and answers in his doctoral dissertation completed at Pacifica Graduate Institute (2009). "Empathic attunement is one of the key components for effecting change in clients through clinical work in the psychotherapeutic setting. Recent research across various disciplines including neuroscience, developmental psychology, and neuropsychoanalysis has suggested the importance of redefining clinical efficacy in terms of empathic attunement that is bodily-based, that is, a connection between the unconscious bodily-based systems of the psychotherapist and client that includes the brain, mind, and body.
"In light of this work, this investigation hypothesized that bodily-based practices which utilize and emphasize bodily awareness, such as yoga and meditation, would increase the level of empathic attunement in psychotherapists. . . Results showed that psychotherapists who engaged in yoga, meditation, or other bodily-based practices currently, but not in the past, had higher empathy scores than those psychotherapists who did not engage in such practices. Findings suggest that engaging in a bodily-based practice may contribute to the development of empathy, and that maintaining a current practice may play a role in retaining higher levels of empathy. Results showed no significant correlation between length of practice time and empathy scores." Abstract as well as link to full-text PDF copy of the dissertation at PQDT Open [takes awhile to load].
