The following post is from our Recovery-Centered Clinical System (RCCS) Tidbit of the Month series. Each month, the RCCS Steering Committee creates practices to support our recovery culture within our programs and among staff. Click here to learn more about the RCCS.

Empathy

Empathy is an awareness of the feelings and emotions of other people. Tapping into empathy helps us to understand what others are experiencing as if we were feeling it ourselves. It nurtures kind and helpful acts toward others like donating, sharing, and contributing to the wellbeing of others.

Empathy is different than sympathy and compassion. Empathy connects people and strengthens relationships, while sympathy can place distance between people. Sympathy might be considered feeling “for” someone; empathy is feeling “with” someone. Empathy requires us to take the perspective of another person, to be non-judgmental and recognize another’s emotions and communicate and/or reflect that. Empathy helps us be vulnerable and share our experiences or feelings.

Psychologists have identified different types of empathy:

Cognitive Empathy: understanding someone’s thoughts and emotions in a rational sense, rather than an emotional sense.
Emotional Empathy: feeling someone else’s emotions
Compassionate Empathy: understanding someone’s feelings and taking actions to help

Practice:

Use the following prompts to practice empathy skills.

Understanding Others: Sense others’ feelings and perspectives by listening with curiosity and mindfulness. Try to be fully present and free from distractions. Ask questions to help you grasp your understanding instead of immediately offering advice.
Develop Others: Reward and praise people for their strengths and accomplishments. Provide constructive feedback designed to focus on how to improve.
Have a Service Orientation: Try putting the needs of others first and look for ways to improve their satisfaction. Go the “extra mile” for others.
Leverage Diversity: Create and develop opportunities through and with different kinds of people with backgrounds, identities, and perspectives.
Political Awareness: Listen for and respond to the unspoken needs of others.
Send Less Emails: Instead, pick up the phone or walk down the hall and have a conversation face-to-face. We build better connections and understand each other more deeply when we talk directly.