2. What is Empathy?
“to put yourself in his or her shoes”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOjL6baO
wu0
3. Background Info
-origin of the word empathy dates back to the
1880’s
-German psychologist Theodore Lipps
-coined the term “einfuhlung” (in feeling)
-then meant to describe the emotional appreciation
of another’s feelings
-now commonly referred to as process of
understanding a person’s subjective experience
by vicariously sharing that experience while
maintaining an observant stance
4. Medical Field
Empathy is commonly referred to in the
medical work force because it applies directly
to a characteristic nurses and physicians need
to have in order to diagnose and treat
patients.
5. Differences in Similar Terms
• Pity -describes a relationship which separates
physician and patient
-often condescending and may entail
feelings of contempt and rejection
• Sympathy -physician experiences feelings as if he
or she were the sufferer
-shared feelings
• Empathy -“borrows” another’s feelings to
observe, feel, and understand but not to take
them upon ourselves
6.
7. DYAMOND’S CONTRIBUTION (1949)
-empathetic person can
imaginatively take the role of
another and can understand and
accurately predict the person’s
thoughts, feelings, and actions
8. Evolution
-term originally believed by all researchers to be
innate and impossible to acquire
-either born with it or not
-now considered teachable and learnable by
some
-named as essential learning objective by the
American Association of Medical Colleges
9. American Association of Medical Colleges Could Be
Referring To. . .
Clinical Empathy-expanded defintion of empathy which
includes
-emotive: ability to imagine patient’s emotions and perspectives
-moral: the physician’s internal motivation to empathize
-cognitive: intellectual ability to identify and understand
patient’s emotions and perspectives
-behavioral: ability to convey understanding of those emotions
and perspectives back to the patient
10. Behavioral Empathy
-empathy mediates helping behaviors or
volunteering (nursing)
-associated with higher life statistics, well being,
and health promotion
-volunteerism provides man-power, saves
money, and is the backbone of many
organizations
11. Measurement of Empathy
-more than 20 different ways to measure
-very difficult to measure
-most studies use paper and pencil self
evaluations
Popular Ones Include:
-Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI)
-Empathy Construct Rating Scale (ECRS)
-Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale
12. Study
-Hogan Empathy Scale and Adjective Check List
Empathy Scale
-tested 43 adults
-ages 63-96
-both test results showed mean score of older
generations was lower than that of the
younger
13. Medical Models
“The Four Habits Model” (Permenente Medical Group)
-Invest in the beginning, Elicit the patient’s
perspective, Demonstrate empathy, Invest in the end
“The Four E’s” ( Bayer Institute for Health Care
Communication)
-Engage, Empathize, Educate, Enlist
“The PEARLS” (American Academy on Physician and
Patient)
-Partnership, Empathy, Apology, Respect,
Legitimization, Support
14. Key Steps to Effective Empathy
-Frederic Platt-
-Recognizing presence of strong feelings in the clinical
setting (fear, grief, anger, disappointment)
-Pausing to imagine how the patient might be feeling
-Stating your perception of the patient’s feeling (I can
Imagine that must be…)
(It sounds like you’re upset about…)
-Legitimizing that feeling
-Respecting the patient’s effort to cope with the
predicament
-Offering support and partnership (I’m committed to
work with you to…)
(Let’s see what we can do together to…)
15. 5 Types of Empathetic Responses
1) reflective: “I can see that you are…”
“You seem to be…about this”
2) legitimizing: involves putting yourself in the other
person’s place
“I can understand why you’re feeling…”
3) supportive: suggests that you want to help in a
constructive way
“I’ll be here if you have any questions or
need any advice”
4) partnership building: suggests that you would like to
work as a team to solve the problem
“We’ll work together to do what’s best”
5) respectful: expresses admiration for the way in which
the patient is dealing with the situation
“You are coping well with this”
16. 5 Different States of Empathy
-different names for each term
-different ideas behind each name
-each is part of the mosaic that creates empathy
as a whole, even though some ideas seem
conflicting
Empathy As A. . .
18. 2) Professional Trait
-learned communication skill
-comprised of cognitive and behavioral ideas used
to convey understanding of clients reality back to
him or her
-learned phenomenon
-emotional distance
-appropriate professional response
-objectivity
-therapeutic role
19. 3) Communications Process
-goal is to leave the client feeling understood
-can be non-verbal (mentioned later)
-3 primary stages
a)empathy potential
b)empathy expressed
c)empathy recieved
20. 4) Caring
-understanding of a situation and compulsion ti act
because of experience of understanding
-goal is to alleviate emotional suffering
a)identification: losing consciousness of self and
becoming engrossed in the experience/ situation of
another
b)introjection: emotionally experiencing what another is
feeling
c)detachment: responsiveness to suffering
d)patient response: physical needs met or emotional
suffering alleviated
22. Types of Non-Verbal Empathy
-tone of voice (lowered, sympathetic)
-facial expression (concerned)
-touch (caring, reassuring)
23. Ways to Improve Empathy
-review videotaped encounters
-do what feels comfortable
-develop styles that match your personality
24. Barriers to Giving Empathy
-“there is not enough time during the visit to
give empathy”
-“giving empathy is emotionally exhausting for
me”
-“I don’t want to open that Pandora’s box”
-“I’m concerned that if I use all my empathy at
work I won’t have anything left for family”
-“I haven’t had enough training in empathetic
communication”
25. Tying It All Together With Obama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGHbbJ5xz3
g&feature=related
26. References
An Introduction to Empathy (n.d.). Lifelong Independent Veterinary Education.
Retrieved
December 7, 2009, from
http://www.live.ac.uk/documents/intro_to_empathy.pdf
James, T. H. (2003). An Overview of Empathy. A Focus on Patient-Centered Care and
Office
Practice Management, 7. Retrieved from
http://xnet.kp.org/permanentejournal/fall03/cpc.html
Kunyk, D., & Olson, J. (2001). Clarification of conceptualizations of empathy. Journal of
Advanced Nursing, 35(3), 317-325.
doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2648.2001.01848.x.
May, B., & Alligood, M. (2000). BASIC EMPATHY IN OLDER ADULTS:
CONCEPTUALIZATION, MEASUREMENT, AND APPLICATION. Issues in
Mental Health Nursing, 21(4), 375-386.
doi: 10.1080/016/28400247997.
Mehrabian, A., & Epstein, N. (1972). A measure of emotional empathy. Journal of
Personality.
Retrieved from
http://dionysus.psych.wisc.edu/Lit/Articles/MehrabianA1972a.pdf
Stephen, K., & Baernstein, A. (2006). Educating for Empathy. JGIM: Journal of General
Internal Medicine, 21(5), 524-530.
doi: 10.1111/j.1525-1497.2006.00443.x.
Notes de l'éditeur
“commonly referred to” in this sense means that the term empathy has various definitions and is controversial in many aspects which I will talk about later
Just as this mosaic is made of many different pieces, and aspects, together it is combined to create one great component. The term empathy is the same way. Although researchers each contribute varied definitions and theories, they all combine to equal the term empathy.
NURSING is also labeled under volunteering because it requires the same skills and characteristics
I tried to find some examples but apparently these are not available online.
These models are proof that empathy is an active and essential point in the medical work force