Intro to comm
- 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
- 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. . .
- 17. 1) Human Trait -innate -natural ability -cannot be taught but can be identified, reinforced, and refined
- 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
- 21. 5) Special Relationship -reciprocal relationship to develop over time -consists of 3 sequential stages a)initiating b)building c)sustaining
- 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.
Editor's Notes
- #4: “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
- #7: 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.
- #11: NURSING is also labeled under volunteering because it requires the same skills and characteristics
- #12: I tried to find some examples but apparently these are not available online.
- #14: These models are proof that empathy is an active and essential point in the medical work force
- #25: -informal survey of practicing clinicians