Empathy and Compassion
What is empathy?
- "Perceiving the internal frame of reference of another with accuracy and with the emotional components and meanings which pertain thereto as if one were the person but without ever losing the as if condition" -Emotional response involving care and concern for others. - Cognitive understanding of others - Ability to communicate this understanding to the client..
Tonglen as a Tool to Encounter Suffering
- A method for connecting with suffering-ours and that which is all around us- everywhere we go. To awaken compassion in all of us. To overcome fear of suffering and dissolving the tightness of our heart. • Connect with spaciousness, trust that you can transform suffering, try it. 1. Briefly rest in a feeling of spaciousness, 2. Experience your in-breath as dark and heavy, and your out-breath as fresh and light. 3. Focus on the suffering of another person (or yourself), breathing in their pain as heavy smoke and breathing out relief as light. 4. Expand the practice beyond individual suffering to include all beings who are experiencing this type of pain.
Empathy and Compassion
- Empathy can lead to negative emotions - Compassion: "feeling concern for another's suffering and desiring to enhance that individual's welfare"
Cultural Empathy
- Expression of empathy may rely on cultural values, societal norms, and communication styles
Encountering Suffering
- It's easy to get stuck when we encounter suffering: • If we let it in, it can feel so overwhelming that we tend to shut down. • If we don't let in in, we may start to feel cold and hard toward pain.
Cultivating Compassion
- Loving kindness meditation - May you be free from harm. May you be healthy and happy. May you grow with ease. - Focus on self, close person, neutral person, challenging person
Universal-diverse orientation (UDO)
- Overarching attitude of openness and acceptance of the various cultures to which clients belong, including recognition of similarities and difference among people.
Why is Empathy Important?
- Predictor of therapy outcome - Adopt the viewpoint of others, and fantasy, a tendency to imagine the feelings and actions of fictional figures - Empathetic concern: Involving feelings about others, such as sympathy and concern. - Personal distress, feelings of anxiety or tension arising from interpersonal situations. -Respond to emotions as well as thoughts.
