Page 12 - PartA
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Counselling Skills
In contrast, sympathy is where we feel pity and sorrow for someone else’s misfortune.
For example, people with the experience of parenthood can sympathise with other
parents whose child dies because they are imagining how they would feel if it
happened to them. The emphasis here is on the feelings of the sympathetic parents
– not the parents who have lost the child. This is particularly important for
bereavement counsellors who must demonstrate empathy – not sympathy
– where the focus is on the parents who have suffered the loss.
R Further Research: Empathetic understanding
Use the link below to find out more about empathetic
understanding. If you need help using the internet, you should
seek advice from your tutor or your local library. If the link does
not work when you type it into your browser, simply search for
‘Improving social skills empathy’ in a search engine and you will
find the link on the results page. Make notes in the space below.
www.improveyoursocialskills.com/empathy
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