Evaluation of an Empathy Training Program to Prevent Emotional Maladjustment Symptoms in Social Professions

Tobias Altmann,Victoria Schönefeld,Marcus Roth

doi:10.4236/psych.2015.614187

Abstract

This study examined the impact of a 4-day empathy training program for social professions. The major focus of the training was to enhance reflected empathic behavior as a resource in emotionally tense situations by strengthening self-other differentiation and emotional self-acceptance. It was hypothesized that maladjustment symptoms such as depressiveness and irritation would decline as a consequence. The sample analyzed in this randomized control study evaluating the training program was comprised of 319 health care trainees at the graduate level (intervention group n = 147, control group n = 172). Longitudinal follow-up data were collected before and 3 months after the training. Measures of emotional competences and maladjustment symptoms were taken. Results showed significant change in emotional self-acceptance, resilience, emotional self-perception, self-other-differentiation, irritation, and psycho-social maladjustment symptoms in the intervention group compared with the control group. Self-other differentiation was found to be a small yet significant mediator.

Highlights

Empathy is considered a central resource in social professions such as therapy, counseling, and especially health care (Brunero, Lamont, & Coates, 2010; Hojat, 2007)
As described in the method section above, a positive δIC value as an effect size for the intervention effect in the repeated measures MANOVA indicates a stronger increase in the dependent variables in the intervention group compared with the change in the control group and vice versa
As indicated by the univariate tests, we found a significantly stronger increase in the intervention group compared with the control group for the dimensions emotional self-perception, emotional self-acceptance, emotional clarity, and resilience, as hypothesized

Summary

Introduction

Empathy is considered a central resource in social professions such as therapy, counseling, and especially health care (Brunero, Lamont, & Coates, 2010; Hojat, 2007). Training programs to enhance empathy are understandably frequently implemented in the field (Brunero et al, 2010; Stepien & Baernstein, 2006). Besides the fact that these programs are seldom evaluated according to the standards of psychological science Evaluation of an Empathy Training Program to Prevent Emotional Maladjustment Symptoms in Social Professions. 2010), most programs try to enhance empathy without considering the negative consequences that the empathic sharing of emotions can have (e.g., depression; Carré, Stefaniak, D’Ambrosio, Bensalah, & Besche-Richard, 2013; Corcoran, 1989; Thoma et al, 2011), especially in the social professions (Åström, Nilsson, Norberg, Sandman, & Winbald, 1991; Thomas, 2013). Many empathy training programs tend to ignore this variable and promote a rather undifferentiated version of empathy aimed at increasing empathy “as such” without considering the functional and dysfunctional aspects of the interactional empathy process

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion