Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. It involves both cognitive understanding (“perspective-taking”) and affective resonance (“feeling with” someone), playing a crucial role in healthy relationships and effective therapeutic work.
Key Points:
- Types of Empathy:
- Cognitive Empathy: Understanding another’s perspective or mental state.
- Emotional Empathy: Sharing or mirroring another person’s feelings.
- Benefits: Facilitates connection, compassion, and supportive environments.
- Risks: Excessive empathy (without boundaries) can lead to compassion fatigue or emotional burnout in helping professions.
- Development: Often cultivated through active listening, mindfulness, and self-reflection.
