Empathy is the ability to understand and share another person's feelings and experiences. It involves both intellectual and emotional processes that help people understand others and solve problems. Empathy is important for social workers as it allows them to understand clients' situations and provide beneficial support. There are two main types of empathy - emotional empathy which involves sharing another's feelings, and cognitive empathy which involves understanding another's perspective. Empathy plays an important role in social work practice by improving client outcomes and allowing practitioners to better serve their clients.

1. EMPATHY
" Thompson says. "My empathy is
like a tool, and I'm getting better at
using it."

2. EMPATHY
EMPATHY IS THE ABILITY TO IDENTIFY WITH OR VICARIOUSLY
EXPERIENCE ANOTHER PERSON’S SITUATION .EMPATHIZING
IS BOTH AN INTELLECTUAL AND EMOTIONAL PROCESS THAT
MAKES IT FAR EASIER TO UNDERSTAND AND HELP OTHERS
SOLVE THEIR PROBLEMS. MOST SOCIAL WORKERS ARE
EMPATHETIC BY NATURE: IN FACT, EMPATHY IS A MAJOR
REASON PEOPLE ENTER THE PREFESSION.

3. WHAT IS EMPATHY?
• The term “empathy” is used to describe a wide range of experiences.
Emotion researchers generally define empathy as the ability to sense
other people’s emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what
someone else might be thinking or feeling.
• And we'd love to hear about the real examples of empathy in
your life. Whether it's a neighbor who brings dinner over once a
week because you're too tired to cook or a family member who
volunteers to babysit your children when you have fatigue,
empathy helps those who can't always help themselves.

4. TYPES OF EMPATHY
TWO TYPES OF EMPATHY:
Emotional empathy
• refers to the sensations and feelings we get in response to
others’ emotions; this can include mirroring what that person is
feeling, or just feeling stressed when we detect another’s fear or
anxiety.
Cognitive empathy,
• sometimes called “perspective taking,” refers to our ability to
identify and understand other people’s emotions. Studies
suggest that people with autism spectrum disorders have a hard
time empathizing.

5. Elements of Empathy
Daniel Goleman identified five key elements of empathy.
 Understanding Others
 Developing Others
 Having a Service Orientation
 Leveraging Diversity
 Political Awareness

6. Understanding Others
This is perhaps what most people understand by ‘empathy’: in Goleman’s words, “sensing others’
feelings and perspectives, and taking an active interest in their concerns”
Developing Others
Developing others means acting on their needs and concerns, and helping them to develop to
their full potential.
Reward and praise people for their strengths and accomplishments, and provide constructive
feedback designed to focus on how to improve.
Having a Service Orientation
Primarily aimed at work situations, having a service orientation means putting the needs of
customers first and looking for ways to improve their satisfaction and loyalty.
People who have this approach will ‘go the extra mile’ for customers. They will genuinely
understand customers’ needs, and go out of their way to help meet them.
Leveraging Diversity
Leveraging diversity means being able to create and develop opportunities through different
kinds of people, recognising and celebrating that we all bring something different to the table.
Political Awareness
Many people view ‘political’ skills as manipulative, but in its best sense, ‘political’ means
sensing and responding to a group’s emotional undercurrents and power relationships.

7. EMPATHY AND SOCIAL WORK
• Empathy is important for the survival and
maintenance of society by preventing aggression
against others and establishing healthy
communication among members
 It also forms the basis of the feeling of interest,
warmth and closeness to those in difficult
situations. Empathy related helping behavior
(prosocial behaviors) involves helping others in
a difficult situation
 Hence empathy is co-related to Social work.

8. IMPLICATIONS TO SOCIAL CASE
WORK PRACTICE
• The use of empathy is considered an essential part of the
professional encounter and a standard in providing ethical care. ... In
the Social Work dictionary, empathy is defined as “the act of
perceiving, understanding, experiencing and responding to the
emotional state and ideas of another person”
• Clients experiencing empathy through treatment have improved
outcomes. Empathic social work practitioners are more effective
and can balance their roles better. Social work practitioners can and
should learn about emerging research on empathy and use that
information to better serve their client populations.

9. CONCLUSION
“Being empathic also helps you view the world in a more balanced and objective way”
When people understand or relate themselves with the thoughts, feelings, emotions, and
situations they can provide more beneficial support through understanding.
THEREFORE AS A SOCIAL WORKER EMPATHY PLAYS IMPORTANT ROLE, TO HELP PEOPLE TO
HELP THEMSELVES

10. REFERENCE
 D'Cruz, H. & Jones, M. (2004) Social Work Research: Ethical and Political Context. London:
SAGE Publications Ltd
 https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/empathy/definition

11. BY,
LIBIN JO MATHEW
Email:libinjomathew@gmail.com