Have
you ever been in a unique and challenging situation that caused you to feel
like no one really understood what you were going through? Just about everyone
has had that feeling at one time or another. One of the beautiful things about group therapy is that being involved
in a cohesive group program provides an opportunity for group members to share
their individual experiences with others who can respond with empathy.
Besides
love and compassion, empathy is one of the most powerful factors when it comes
to connecting with other human beings in a positive manner. Empathy involves
shared thoughts, feelings and attitudes, even when personal experiences and
backgrounds may be different. Empathy is like a bridge that connects one person
to another through identification and understanding.
Three quick but key
points for showing and experiencing empathy: Empathy comes more naturally to some
people than others. Here are a few things to focus on when showing empathy:
Suspend interpersonal
judgement
– When empathizing with another person, judging that person’s actions can get
in the way of understanding. Temporarily forget about whether or not you agree
or disagree with what that person did when trying to empathize.
Focus on
their heart and mind, not your own – When showing empathy, forget about how you imagine
that you would think and feel in that person’s situation based on your
experience and focus more on how that individual must have thought and felt from
their perspective (which may be completely different than how you would feel in
the same situation)
Imaginatively
get into the other person’s world – Allow the other person’s point of view,
circumstances and experiences to take you out of your own head and into their
world, seeing and feeling things from their point of view and frame of
reference as best that you can imagine
Showing Empathy Group
Exercise:
Think
about the title of this page: “I feel
like no one understands…” Take a few minutes to think about a situation in
your life which can be difficult to understand. Take turns sharing your
situation one person at a time and allow your group members to try to show you
empathy by responding according to the following rules for listeners:
Listen, but:
- Don't give advice
- Do not focus on whether you agree or disagree
- Do not explain how you think the situation could have been handled differently
- Try to respond with empathy and understanding
free addiction and mental health tools and information
No comments:
Post a Comment