When you express sympathy, it can lead to feelings of being misunderstood and judged. When we relate with sympathy, we move into problem-solving. We have ideas and judgments about how the person feels and what they should do.
Sympathy comes from our ego. It is often telling others what to do or feel and is designed to show a form of pity.
Empathy is our ability to understand how someone feels and is defined as the feeling that you may understand or be prepared to try to understand. It is looking at things from another person’s perspective and attempting to understand why they feel the way they do. Empathy is not easy. It requires a tremendous amount of vulnerability to listen without judgment. It comes from a place of compassion.
Delivering sympathy in place of empathy can be damaging to the clients well-being, and potentially dangerous with high risk patients/clients.
Clinical supervision for Psychotherapist visit:
Comments