Transform Your Connection: The Power of Humanize Dyads
In sociology, a dyad refers to two individuals maintaining a meaningful relationship (Becker and Useem, 1942). At Humanize, dyads are the cornerstone of our approach, setting us apart from conventional contemplative programs that focus on the individual.
The Humanize Dyad
The Humanize Dyad, as a contemplative practice, was inspired by seminal research by the Max Planck Institute’s Social Neuroscience Lab, which was led by Prof. Dr. Tania Singer and team in one of the largest scientific mental training studies, the ResourceProject (Singer et al., 2016, Kok& Singer, 2017) and more recently the 9-week online curriculum from the CovSocial project (Godaraet al., 2021), with more than 60 papers published.
Humanize has adapted and further developed these engaging and efficient partner-based mental exercises, through the Humanize Dyads. Our aim is to scale this intersubjective skill-learning approach for broader use in society to foster resilience, mental health and social cohesion.
The Dyad Structure
A Humanize Dyad is a brief, structured, intersubjective daily mental practice, where two people alternate between speaking and listening. It is a container for self-awareness and connection. When both the speaker and the listener are fully present, there is a welcoming space for the range of intra and interpersonal experience to arise. This vulnerability deepens the connection to ourselves and each other.
As the Dyad is a relational practice, it gives us the opportunity to observe our social nature through increasing awareness of the thoughts and conditioning that form the patterns of connection and disconnection.
What happens in a Dyad?
The Humanize Dyad is peer-to-peer self-reflection in the presence of a supportive listener, held securely online through the Humanize app, and based on decades of social neuroscience research.
It is not therapy, coaching, or advice-giving. Instead, partners take turns sharing about daily difficult emotions and gratitude while the other partner listens. It is a short but powerful practice to reflect, connect with another human being, and build social and emotional skills, all in just 15 minutes a day.
The Humanize App guides you and your partner through each step of the Dyad practice, and you change partners each week, giving you the chance to connect with many different people.
Olisia Juzyc, United States
It's the simplicity and the magic of humans connecting as humans, that makes it so powerful. I even started to secretly dream of a world, where every human being can experience the power of it."
Eva-Maria Zoll, Germany
Esra Sagol, Turkey
Laurie Hallihan, United States
Questions about Dyads and the Foundation Dyad Program?
Read the FAQs here, or send us an email at support@humanize.com
References:
Godara, M.; Silveira, S. J.; Matthäus, H.; Heim, C.; Voelkle, M.; Hecht, M.; Binder, E. B.; Singer, T.: Investigating differential effects of socio-emotional and mindfulnessbased online interventions on mental health, resilience and social capacities during the COVID-19 pandemic: The study protocol. PLoS One 16 (11), e0256323 (2021)
Kok, B. E.; Singer, T.: Effects of contemplative dyads on engagement and perceived social connectedness over 9 months of mental training: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry 74 (2), S. 126 – 134 (2017).
Singer, T.; Kok, B. E.; Bornemann, B.; Zurborg, S.; Bolz, M.; Bochow, C.: The ReSource Project: Background, design, samples, and measurements. Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig (2016)