Page 56 - PartA

Counselling Skills

Empathy is communicated in three ways:

1. Thinking – an intellectual grasping of how the other person feels.

2. Feeling – a mirroring or sharing of the emotion with the other person.

3. Behavioural – assuming in your mind the role of the other person or
putting yourself in their place.

Empathy is also communicated non-verbally through facial expression, eye contact,
forward leaning towards the other person and a reduction of physical distance
between the counsellor and the client.

Q. Is there a difference between empathy, sympathy and pity?

A. Yes there is a difference. Sympathy and pity are frequently confused with
empathy, but they are not the same.

Sympathy can be defined as feeling like someone else. Pity is about feeling for
someone else. Empathy means to respond to someone in a way that shows the other
person that you understand their situation or are trying to understand it.

Try the next activity to check your understanding of the difference between sympathy,
pity and empathy.

A Activity 3: The difference between sympathy, pity and

empathy

Look at the following statements or phrases and tick the ones that
you think indicate empathy.
√

1. I know exactly how you must feel.

2. It makes me so upset to see you like this.

3. I think I understand what you mean, but can I recap to be sure?

4. What you seem to be saying is...

Check your answers at the end of this workbook.

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