Empathy Flashcards
What is the definition of empathy?
The ability to perceive the meaning and feelings of another and to communicate those to the other person. (Stein-Panbury, 2005)
State of perceiving the internal frame of reference of the other person, with accuracy, and with emotion and meaning that pertain to it, as if one were the other person (Rogers, 1959).
What are the goals of empathy? (What does empathy do?)
Empathy is a dimension of sensory perception and a way of knowing that organizes sense data into meaningful understanding.
Responds to hidden message/acknowledges underlying feelings.
Adds significantly to message.
Caregiver remains objective.
What are the three stages of empathy?
Understand and recognize emotions.
Communicating understanding.
Recognize it had been understood.
What is sympathy?
Emphasizes sharing distressing feelings.
Involves agreeing with aspects of patient feelings.
What are some components of sympathy that distinguish it from empathy? (Difference between sympathy and empathy)
Sympathy:
Share own experiences (often negative)
Sympathy has a component of acceptance of the other’s situation (more sympathetic when the nurse agrees with the patient’s comments).
Loss of helper’s objectivity
Tendency to focus on self, not on patient
Tendency to feel sorry for patient.
How is active listening used with sympathy vs with empathy?
Sympathy: Less active when listening -> caregiver tunes into aspects agrees with or relates to. “I remember when I…”
Empathy: More active listening - verbally (patient’s own text)
-non-verbally (patient’s subtext).
How do the nurse’s own personal feelings relate to the patient with sympathy vs empathy?
Sympathy:
May hinge on caregiver’s judging/evaluating according to own beliefs/feelings -> may interfere
Emphasizes sharing caregiver’s own distressing feelings.
Empathy: Keeps own personal feelings out of dialogue -> maintains professional perspective.
Doesn’t emphasize any particular feeling -> shares patient’s feelings, maintains own therapeutic sense of self.
What are the three dimensions of empathy?
Perceptiveness
Know-how
Assertiveness
What is perceptiveness? (As a dimension of empathy?)
Draws on intelligence, social intelligence, experience, reflection, developing wisdom and tuning in to clients. This comes with social-emotional maturity. If your perception is flawed, then the conversation will not be therapeutic, or will end.
What is know-how? (As a dimension of empathy)
Being able to deliver the appropriate response that the situation demands. Ability to communicate our accurate understanding. Your skills in responding to an individual are only as good as the accuracy of our perception of the person and situation. You don’t need to know the specific situation to pick up that a patient is anxious or upset, or that something is bothering him/her.
What is assertiveness? (As a dimension of empathy)
The ability to step up to the plate and discuss what you see hidden in the patient’s communication. Perceptiveness and know how are useless if you do not know how to deliver the goods. Sometimes this means giving the power to the patient, being assertive rather than forcing something to work, or struggling through an uncomfortable situation.
What are four components of empathetic responses?
Active listening
Response
Validation
Active communication skills.
What is involved in listening? (as a component of empathetic responses)
Listening to the CORE messages, for the feelings being expressed, the meaning of the experience, and the behaviours underlying the feelings. This helps to build therapeutic relationships.
What is involved in responses? (as a component of empathetic responses)
Responses empathize/understand patient feelings, behaviours and experiences. Eg. “You feel… because…”
What is validation? (As a component of empathetic responses)
Validation - give pause to encourage the patient in confirming the responses. Actively listen, attend, reflect feelings. Validate but do not repeat everything back.
