Frontiers Friday #56. Empathy (Part V)
Frontiers of Psychotherapist Development
Frontiers Friday #56. On Empathy (Part V)
I know, there's a lot to be said about empathy. Here's the second last part on this topic.
In case you missed it, here's the previous 15 recommendations on Empathy, , , and .
📝 From My Desk (Archive): It's Not About You
A short-story of how I got so self-absorbed.
👓 Web Read: We Have Many More Than Five Senses — Here’s How To Make The Most Of Them
Key graf:
People who are better at so-called “cardiac interoception” experience emotions more intensely, enjoy more nuanced emotions, and are better at recognising other people’s emotions, which is a critical first step in empathy”
📽 Movie: Unheard Woman ("Eine unerhörte Frau")
This is a german film is based on a true story of a mother fighting to have the medical profession treat her daughter, while people thinks she has munchausen by proxy.
I saw this more than 4 years ago (on a plane) and it still lingers, particularly the fight of the mother to get someone who understands and beliefs her.
🔎 Research: Empathy (Psychotherapy_Elliot, Bohart Watson & Greenberg, 2011)
This meta-analysis by Robert Elliot and team is a good "zoomed-out" picture on the impact of empathy on therapy outcomes (attributable to about 9.6% of the variance in outcomes, compared to treatment differences of 0-1%).
Carl Rogers was on to something. (Stay tuned, as I'm working on doing a de-construction of one of his sessions).
⏸ Words Worth Contemplating:
"When someone is nasty, rude, hateful, or mean with you, pretend they have a disease. That makes it easier to have empathy toward them which can soften the conflict”
~ Kevin Kelly, 1 of the 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice when he turned 68.
Reflection:
Were there times when you experienced invalidation and/or were being misunderstood? What were the effects on you? What did this teach you about engaging with people who appear "difficult" to work with?
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