Effects of Four Training Programs on Three Kinds of Empathy

Abstract

Within the counseling/psychotherapy field, the extent to which empathy is a communication skill, an inner experience of the counselor, or the client’s perception is controversial (Gladstein, 1983). The empathy training literature has, however, taken the position that empathy is a behavioral communication skill, emphasizing skill acquisition and performance. Behavioral training technology has been developed to equip trainees with a repertoire of counseling skills. The inner experience of the trainee has been neglected, however, by the empathy training literature (Hackney, 1978; Mahon & Altman, 1977). Partly, this neglect is due to the lack of an adequate conceptualization of empathy that links the complex nature of empathy with the available training technology. A view of empathy is needed that takes into account the counselor’s inner experience, but is still pragmatic enough to relate to the available training technology.