Empathy in the Counseling Process: The Role of Counselor Understanding in Client Change

Abstract

The literature on empathic understanding is abundant, representing the efforts of authors from a variety of theoretical orientations. This article reviews relevant sources from psychoanalytic, person‐centered, and existential approaches, citing similarities and differences of those sources in the rendering of empathic understanding as a counseling tool.

Imagination: An Essential Dimension of a Counselor's Empathy

“…Empathy in the counseling relationship has proven to be an essential element for promoting therapeutic change across almost every treatment orientation (Clark, 2007; Hartley, 1995; Kottler, Montgomery, & Marbley, 1998). Within a humanistic framework, the respectful cultivation of a facilitative counseling relationship promotes the exploration of meanings in the subjective experience of diverse clients (Hansen, 2009; Pearson, 1999).…”

Empathy: An Integral Model in the Counseling Process

“…In a review of current theories of counseling and psychotherapy, I was able to identify 13 modalities that provide a relative focus to empathy and empathic understanding (Clark, 2007). Although empathy is widely recognized by numerous treatment approaches, the attention given to empathic understanding in the professional literature differs considerably among the various traditions (Cochran & Cochran, 2006;Gilbert, 2007;Hartley, 1995;Nystul, 2011;Watson, 2002). With respect to particular therapies, empathy holds a significant position in person-centered therapy and self psychology.…”

The Importance of Empathy in the Therapeutic Alliance

“…Einfuhling means "feeling into" the experience of another person (Duan & Hill, 1996;Hartley, 1995). Kohut referred to empathic resonance to describe the therapist's sharing the client's deep meanings and the significance of the client's experiences (Hartley, 1995). Rogers (1957) defined his concept of accurate empathy in this way:…”

“…Psychoanalytic theory, especially object relations and self-psychology, relies heavily on empathy within the therapeutic alliance (Bohart & Greenberg, 1997;Duan & Hill, 1996;Eagle & Wolitzky, 1997;Hansen, 2000;Hartley, 1995;Henry et al, 1990), and client-centered (Glauser & Bozarth, 2001;Hartley, 1995;Rogers, 1957) and existential theories (Hartley, 1995) focus on counselor empathy as well. There have also been numerous studies of empathy and related constructs within psychodynamic therapy (Harriest, Quintana, Strupp, & Henry, 1994;Henry et al, 1990), Gestalt therapy (Pearson, 1999) and behavior therapy (Bordin, 1979).…”