Empathy: An Integral Model in the Counseling Process

Abstract

Expanding on a framework introduced by Carl Rogers, an integral model of empathy in counseling uses empathic understanding through 3 ways of knowing: Subjective empathy enables a counselor to momentarily experience what it is like to be a client, interpersonal empathy relates to understanding a client's phenomenological experiencing, and objective empathy uses reputable knowledge sources outside of a client's frame of reference. Across the counseling process, empathy is integral to treatment strategies and interventions.