The HSP Empath | Seattle, WA
25-30% of the population are HSPs and only a small percentage of them are also empaths
You may be wondering, “What are empaths? Is that the same thing as being an HSP?” The answer is, not exactly. All empaths are highly sensitive, but not all HSPs are empaths.
While HSPs have a nervous system that processes sensory and environmental input deeply—noises, bright lights, busyness, subtle shifts in conversation, and emotional tone—empaths take that a step further. While HSPs perceive and process emotions intensely, empaths actually absorb those emotions into their own bodies, often having a hard time distinguishing where their feelings end and another person’s begin.
How Therapy Helps HSPs and Empaths
Living as an empath can easily feel overwhelming. Without tools to protect your energy, empathy can easily turn into chronic fatigue, anxiety, boundary confusion, and emotional burnout.
Therapy can help empaths explore and embrace this unique ability. Together we work together to help you:
Differentiate Your Feelings: Learn how to separate your own authentic emotional experience from the energy you’re picking up from others.
Build Energetic & Emotional Boundaries: Practice saying "no" and setting limits without feeling guilty or responsible for fixing everyone else’s discomfort.
Regulate Your Nervous System: Develop body-based tools to discharge accumulated stress and reset after absorbing heavy environments or interactions.
Unpack the Overwhelm: Create a safe space where you don't have to perform, protect others, or hide your sensitivity.
Ready to Find Relief?
You don't have to go through life feeling at the mercy of everyone else's mood swings or carrying weights that aren't yours to hold.
If you’re looking for an empath- and HSP-informed therapist in Washington State, I’d love to connect. I offer a brief, low-pressure consultation where we can talk through what you’re experiencing and see if working together feels like a good fit.
Frequently Asked Questions About Empaths & Therapy
What is an empath?
An empath is someone who experiences an unusually high level of empathy, picking up and physically absorbing the emotions, stress, and energy of people around them. Unlike general empathy—where you understand how someone feels—an empath actually feels those emotions within their own body and mind.
Can you be an empath without being a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)?
Generally, no. Highly Sensitive Persons (HSPs) have a biological trait (Sensory Processing Sensitivity) that makes their nervous system deeply responsive to all environmental input. Empaths share this same sensitive nervous system, but their sensitivity specifically tunes into emotional and somatic energy. In short: all empaths are HSPs, but not all HSPs absorb emotions to the level an empath does.
Why do empaths get so exhausted?
Empaths suffer from fatigue and emotional burnout because their nervous systems are constantly processing dual streams of information: their own internal experience and the external emotions of everyone in their environment. Without intentional boundaries and time to discharge that extra input, the body stays in a state of high nervous system arousal.
How does therapy help an empath?
Therapy helps empaths learn how to manage their ability to absorb emotions that aren't theirs. In therapy, you learn how to identify where your energy ends and someone else's begins, practice guilt-free emotional boundaries, and develop somatic tools to soothe an overstimulated nervous system.
Do you offer in-person therapy for empaths in Kirkland or Seattle?
Yes! I provide specialized, HSP- and empath-informed therapy for adults in Kirkland, WA or virtually across Washington State.
Get In Touch
Hi, I’m Miranda, a therapist who specializes in working with HSPs. As an HSP myself, I understand how important it can be to have a therapist that understands how you work.
Whether you’re just learning you might be an HSP or you’ve known for a while, I’d love to hear from you.