Beyond language: embodiment, interpersonal synchrony, and multisensory interaction in AI-mediated psychotherapy

Generative AI chatbots show promise for mental health support, yet remain predominantly text-based, whereas psychotherapy additionally relies on embodied, multisensory, and interpersonal processes. These processes implicit in human-to-human psychotherapy have become explicit variables requiring examination in the context of AI-mediated psychotherapy. Drawing on embodied cognition, predictive processing, and interpersonal neuroscience, we propose an embodiment-informed agenda to evaluate therapeutic processes, calibrate multisensory features, and govern responsible use in AI-mediated psychotherapy.

B.L and M.R.L were funded by the Digitalization Initiative of the Zurich Higher Education Institutions (Founder-Call 2025.1). D.R. and M.R.L. were funded by the Stiftung zur Förderung von Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie (Zurich, Switzerland). Open access funding provided by University of Zurich.

Experimental Psychopathology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland Marte Roel Lesur, Bigna Lenggenhager & Dominique Recher Department of Adult Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland DEI Interactive Systems Group, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Leganés, Spain Association for Independent Research, Zurich, Switzerland Healthy Longevity Center, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland Correspondence to Marte Roel Lesur or Bigna Lenggenhager. The authors declare no competing interests. Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Roel Lesur, M., Lenggenhager, B. & Recher, D. Beyond language: embodiment, interpersonal synchrony, and multisensory interaction in AI-mediated psychotherapy. npj Digit.

Med. (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-026-03344-4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-026-03344-4