Justin Sunseri, LMFT
Nov 26, 2019
Updated: Mar 27, 2020
EMPATHY
What is it? - the ability to understand and share the feelings of another
Webster’s: the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner
Affective empathy - the sensations and feelings we get in response to others’ emotions; can include mirroring feelings
Cognitive empathy - perspective taking; our ability to identify and understand other people’s emotions
Other words related to empathy: Understanding, sharing, awareness, sensitive, vicariously, experiencing, sensing emotions, empathy and personal growth
Build social connections with others
Helps you learn to regulate your own emotions
Promotes helping behaviors
Polyvagal state - Safe & Social
COMPASSION
What it is - Kindness, caring, a willingness to help others
Empathy + wanting to help = Compassion
Requires being in safe state while also down the ladder
Being anchored in safety while tapping into the defensive state and feeling it
Necessary for helping professions
Compassion of professionals is essential in tx - outcomes improve and medical costs decrease
“Among other benefits, compassion reduces pain, improves healing, lowers blood pressure and helps alleviate depression and anxiety.” -NPR
Being empathetic is not enough
Signals danger to someone already in danger
Shows pain, shock
Client or patient’s story will shift, thinking they are causing the shock or the pain
We may evaluate the empathetic pain
Being down the ladder w/o the safety makes us evaluative
What is Empathy? - Greater Good Magazine - https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/empathy/definition
Importance and Benefits of Empathy, Kendra Cherry - https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-empathy-2795562