Physicians down-regulate their pain empathy response: An event-related brain potential study

Decety, Jean; Yang, Chia Yan; Cheng, Yawei

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.01.025

Cited by 459 publications

(412 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…In girls, when the levels of emotional clarity were high, greater empathy was not associated with more internalizing problems, but rather, when clarity was low. This is probably due to the fact that this emotional clarity helps girls reduce the discomfort generated by the empathetic response to the suffering of others (Decety et al, 2010). This result represents a key finding in our study and emphasizes the importance that knowledge of own emotions has when protecting adolescent girls from developing anxiety-depressive problems.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

“…Empathy may thus be considered as a double-edged sword, promoting caring and compassion but at the same time increasing vulnerability of the physician (Decety, Yang and Cheng, 2010;Figley, 2002;Sabo, 2006). That is why it is only logical to think that certain skills such as knowledge and the regulation of emotions could 7 moderate the relationship between empathy and internalizing problem.…”

Section: Personal Factors Related To Internalizing Problemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Personal and Contextual Factors Related to Internalizing Problems During Adolescence

Oliva

Jiménez

Reina

2014

Child Youth Care Forum

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Section: Personal Factors Related To Internalizing Problemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personal and Contextual Factors Related to Internalizing Problems During Adolescence

Oliva

Jiménez

Reina

2014

Child Youth Care Forum

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“…Sometimes it is appropriate to turn off or distance oneself from feelings of empathy, and it appears such emotional distancing can be learned (47,48). In fact, it is clear that turning off empathy-becoming dispassionate-is normal in certain conditions, such as a surgeon performing surgery.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Concepts and implications of altruism bias and pathological altruism

Oakley

2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The profound benefits of altruism in modern society are self-evident. However, the potential hurtful aspects of altruism have gone largely unrecognized in scientific inquiry. This is despite the fact that virtually all forms of altruism are associated with tradeoffs-some of enormous importance and sensitivity-and notwithstanding that examples of pathologies of altruism abound. Presented here are the mechanistic bases and potential ramifications of pathological altruism, that is, altruism in which attempts to promote the welfare of others instead result in unanticipated harm. A basic conceptual approach toward the quantification of altruism bias is presented. Guardian systems and their over arching importance in the evolution of cooperation are also discussed. Concepts of pathological altruism, altruism bias, and guardian systems may help open many new, potentially useful lines of inquiry and provide a framework to begin moving toward a more mature, scientifically informed understanding of altruism and cooperative behavior.Reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.-Richard Feynman

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“…On the one hand, being empathic towards patients can have a significant advantageous therapeutic affect and yet, the emotional cost of doing so can be astronomical and lead to compassion fatigue and burnout. It could be concluded that healthcare professionals need to "regulate their capacity to empathize with their patients so that their emotional reaction does not interfere with the efficacy of their treatment nor impact their wellbeing" (Decety, Yang and Cheng, 2010).…”

Section: The Empathy Conundrummentioning

confidence: 99%

Compassion and its role in the clinical encounter – An argument for compassion training

Wright

Pendry

2016

Journal of Herbal Medicine

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Empathic communication, (i.e. emotionally engaging with a patient), is an important part of the therapeutic relationship. It has been shown to improve the health and therapeutic outcomes for patients by improving diagnosis and compliance. In the West, front-line medical professionals, including herbal medicine practitioners, put themselves at risk of burnout and compassion fatigue by giving emotionally intensive care. While treatments for compassion fatigue and burnout are available, another way forward is needed to ensure healthcare professionals do not become ill; one that will enable both patients and healthcare professionals to receive the care needed. In this paper it is argued that compassion, which is defined in this paper, involves different neural circuitry to empathy and can protect healthcare professionals from the effects of stress that can, if not addressed, lead to burnout. Traditional Buddhist meditation techniques such as loving-kindness meditation have been shown to increase compassion in non-meditative states. Short daily sessions of such mediation practices have been shown to improve compassion in a way that protects healthcare professionals from burnout.

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Physicians down-regulate their pain empathy response: An event-related brain potential study

Cited by 459 publications

References 35 publications

Personal and Contextual Factors Related to Internalizing Problems During Adolescence

Personal and Contextual Factors Related to Internalizing Problems During Adolescence

Concepts and implications of altruism bias and pathological altruism

Compassion and its role in the clinical encounter – An argument for compassion training

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