Sustained Empathic Focus and the Creation of a “We Space” Revisited in the Light of Recent Findings in Neurobiology

ABSTRACTThis article is an attempt to expand our understanding of the curative process with an emphasis on the group therapy setting. It presents a self psychological approach that underlines the importance of a “sustained empathic focus” on each patient’s subjective experience and the creation of what we have referred to as shared “vulnerable moments” and a “we-space.” The relationship of our approach to recent findings in the field of neurobiology is then considered.