What is empathy?

Characterizing the Stages of Empathy

First Person Perspective

The sense-facilitated claim we have to our own experience

Voice: "I"
Strength: Empathetic Receptivity
Issue: Emotional Contagion

Second Person Perspective

Co-facilitated understanding of ourselves in the presence of someone else

Voice: "You"
Strength: Empathetic Disposition
Issue: Loss of personal identity

Third Person Perspective

Objective observation of someone, removed from a relationally-active perspective

Voice: "He, She, They"
Strength: Problem-solving
Issue: Unaccountability to personal experience

Empathetic Perspectives in Practice

In the process of empathy, we often sense and respond simultaneously.

As we build a framework of the other’s world, we are also exhibiting body language, vocalizing feedback, and re-situating our positions in their lives. This occurs through the transposition of the first-, second-, and third-person perspectives.

Understanding how flexibly we transpose between perspectives helps us to improve our responses

Each perspective has different strengths and contexts where it becomes more appropriate.

Applying the Perspectives to Relationships

For simplicity sake, here are three generalized contexts for where we typically see one perspective prioritized over the other two.

Friendships

rely heavily on 1st person perspective, if for no other reason than our friends maintain the closest proximity to our lives.

Therapeutic Roles

rely heavily on the 2nd person perspective because the therapist's experiences become less relevant to the client.

Medical Roles

rely heavily on the 3rd person perspective, due to the interventionalist nature of treatment.

Empathy is the process of receiving and communicating our insights of another's world, facilitated by our perspective, processing methods, and sense orientation.

The Stages of Empathy

Characterizing the Stages of Empathy

First Person Perspective

Second Person Perspective

Third Person Perspective

Empathetic Perspectives in Practice

In the process of empathy, we often sense and respond simultaneously.

Understanding how flexibly we transpose between perspectives helps us to improve our responses

Applying the Perspectives to Relationships

Friendships

Therapeutic Roles

Medical Roles

In case you'd like more detail...

Downloadable PowerPoint

Empathy is the process of receiving and communicating our insights of another's world, facilitated by our perspective, processing methods, and sense orientation.

The Stages of Empathy

Characterizing the Stages of Empathy

First Person Perspective

Second Person Perspective

Third Person Perspective

Empathetic Perspectives in Practice

In the process of empathy, we often sense and respond simultaneously.

Understanding how flexibly we transpose between perspectives helps us to improve our responses

Applying the Perspectives to Relationships

Friendships

Therapeutic Roles

Medical Roles

In case you'd like more detail...

Downloadable PowerPoint

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