Lecture 1 empathy, sympathy and empowerment By Dr. Zaheda Nikhat Dr. Hashem Fida Assistant professor Assistant professor Head of Biology dep. Family &community health King Abdul Aziz University King Abdul Aziz University

What are the importance of empathy and sympathy? Can not build rapport or gain trust without showing those feeling. Back bone for establishing and solidifying helping relationship. Help in developing mutual understanding. Guide us to build appropriate perceptions. Help us to understand the message.

How to differentiate between empathy and sympathy? Sympathy is to identify and communicate that you understand the patients feelings. (e.g. I understand what you are saying, I know how you are feeling) Empathy is to share his\her feeling (e.g. I do feel exactly what you feel)

What is empowerment? Empowerment Is helping others to trust themselves, to identify, know, and believe in them selves and their abilities. Enable others to act independently for him\her self, choose and decide for them selves. Enhancing people’s creativity, cooperation, inspiration, and productivity.

How to be sympathetic? Try to listen effectively, Try to understand and perceive things as they are. Try to accept the feelings and point of views without changing them, stop them, or judge them, Try to pay attention. Try to be consistent. Try to reflect on the patients feeling verbally by summarizing, paraphrasing to show your caring attitude to patient. Try to be genuine and sincere in your relation with patient. Try to respect and accept patient feeling. Try to sit limits(I don’t have time now but we will talk next visit)

What are the type of empathic responses that we should avoid? 1. Judging response: to evaluate another’s feelings: Tell patients in various ways that they shouldn’t feel discouraged or frustrated, they shouldn’t worry, they shouldn’t question their treatment by other health professional, Any message from you that indicate you think patient is wrong or bad, will make patient think and feel that you are not worth his trust and he cant build confidence for a helping relationship.

2. Advising response: we can offer quick solution to another person’s concern with or without correct perception to his exact needs the best source of solution to the problem is always within the patient him\her self. Rely on other for advise may keep patients dependent this is against the empowerment idea we talked earlier when there are times when patients are not capable of coping or understanding or deciding for a solution to their problem, you should walk them and direct them to the solution without dictating it to them. It has to be and show that is coming from them not you.

3. Reassuring response: telling patients who is facing surgery don’t worry, every thing will be fine, you will turn out just fine. It may seems to be helpful but it is conveying that the person shouldn’t feel upset, scared of the procedure, and concerned about the outcomes. You should tell the patient with exact words what is the procedure steps briefly in understood words, explain the risk in an honest words, state the expected outcomes, and the assurance part has to be in the part how practices, competent you are, how careful you will be, and how common this procedure is, and that his fear is very normal to feel.

4. Distracting response: changing the subject, or cutting off patient’s talk or feeling just because we don’t know how to response to them we might direct the communication to topics we feel comfortable with such as medication regimens and so forth these responses tend to convey to patients that we are not listening, or we don’t want to listen.