Page 13 - PartA
P. 13
Counselling Skills
Complete the next activity to learn more about the difference between empathy
and sympathy.
A Activity 3: Feelings of sympathy
Make notes about situations where you have felt sympathy and
how you responded to the other person. These could include items
of news on the television or something that you have been told
about by a friend or someone that you know. Record them in the
space below.
By learning to recognise when you are feeling sympathy, it is easier to distinguish this
from empathy.
By noting how you respond with sympathy, you will become more aware of how
empathy differs. For example, a response such as, ‘I know exactly how you feel’, is
showing sympathy not empathy. Empathetic understanding, on the other hand, is
demonstrated by a counsellor accurately reflecting the client’s feelings and
checking that they are correct. For example:
• ‘You say that you feel angry about...’
• ‘Could you give me a specific example of when it happens?’
• ‘What you seem to be saying is...’
• ‘Am I hearing you correctly...?’
11
