About

Needs is an interconnected catalogue of human needs, designed to help people identify and articulate what matters most to them.

The project draws inspiration from Nonviolent Communication (NVC), a framework developed by Marshall Rosenberg that emphasises understanding universal human needs as a foundation for compassionate connection.

Why needs matter

Behind every feeling, behaviour and conflict lies a need, whether met or unmet. When we can name our needs clearly, we open up new possibilities for meeting them. We also gain empathy for others, recognising that their actions, however puzzling, stem from the same universal needs we all share.

How to use this site

Browse the catalogue to explore different needs. Each entry includes:

• Strategies: practical ways to meet the need
• Recognition questions: prompts to identify when this need is active
• Somatic markers: how the body signals when the need is met or unmet
• Shadow side: potential pitfalls when pursuing the need unskilfully
• Related needs: connections to other needs in the catalogue

Each need also lists the feelings that tend to arise when it is met or unmet, and the faux feelings that point to it. These link to Feelings, the companion catalogue of feelings and the faux feelings that hide them.

Who maintains this

Needs is maintained by Gianluca Campanella.