I loved this animation about empathy (one of my core values!). Student doctors are often so uncomfortable with my emotional discomfort that they want to fix or minimize those feelings. As a patient that often makes me feel worse, as if I am not allowed to be emotionally honest with my doctor. Then I feel like I have to take care of the doctor rather than the other way around.
According to the video, empathy includes:
- perspective taking
- staying out of judgment
- recognizing emotion in other people
- communicating that emotion
I like how this expands my view of empathy and gives me more ways to talk about it with students. I especially love when the video points out the use of "At least..." as an empathic terminator.
Homework:
Listen for ways your emotions are being received or deflected over the course of a week, even (especially?) by people you are close to. How does that make you feel? What would make you feel better?
Excellent posting once again. The video clip is so good at explaining the crucial difference between sympathy and apathy.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tom! I'm glad this video resonated for you.
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