Think empathy is overrated? Think again! Empathy is crucial to our and others’ well-being in countless ways. In this article, Dr. Elliot D. Cohen, one of the principal founders of philosophical counseling in the United States & Executive Director of the National Philosophical Counseling Association, helps to clarify the nature of empathy & its role in successful interpersonal relationships. He provides nine practical guidelines for building and nurturing empathy, including:
- Focus your attention on the welfare, interests and needs of others
- Key into shared human values
- Temporarily suspend your own judgments and critiques
- Connect (with the target)
- Use reflection
- Listen (to the target)
- Use self-disclosure (as appropriate)
- Properly distance yourself to & from the target’s subjective world
- Practice!