The Capacity to be With

Abstract

The capacity to be with is based on Emotional Availability (EA). There are three developmental levels of EA, which the infant acquires sequentially: (1) regulation, resonance, and emotional attunement; (2) deepening the communication with the other; (3) the capacity to be with. In the adult psyche, these three levels become three emotional patterns with varying degrees of presence. In this article, it is proposed that the therapeutic exchange has the potential for healing these emotional pattern(s). The capacity to be with another is an innate instinct that is present in each person and allows living within groups in the here and now without resolving all of one’s pre-existing (inter and intera subjective) conflicts.