Relational Empathy: Beyond Modernist Egocentricism to Postmodern Holistic Contextualism
Maureen O'Hara
Center for Studies of the Person, La Jolla, Californ
In the beginning was the relationship - Martin Buber
Abstract
'Considering empathy as both construct and human activity, the chapter contributes to the fast-growing discussion of the limits of the indigenous psychology of the Western world in addressing the relational needs of its members. In particular it examines the limits of Modernist individualism as a paradigm for understanding human experience, and on ways Western psychological descriptions and understandings of empathy in particular — whether Rogerian, psychoanalytic, existential or more generic — have obscured some of the important ways empathy functions in human relationships. Because of its position as a modernist, objectivist discourse, Western psychology has been slow to recognize how its own modes of enquiry and expression have limited our understanding of relational realities.
The chapter extends understanding of empathy beyond its present role as the "royal road to understanding" of individuals by approaching it from within somewhat different frames of reference from those traditionally characteristic of psychological discussion. Empathy is then discussed in a more multi-levelled or holistic way as a way of being in, belonging to and knowing the relational contexts in which human beings find ourselves situated. Although the main arguments expand understanding of empathy as a therapeutic process the chapter concludes with a discussion of the social conditions of late twentieth century psychology.
As our world undergoes what some consider to be the birth pangs of its first truly "global civilization", in which national, ethnic, religious, gender, class, boundaries are being shifted and erased on unprecedented scales, all of us, whether in formerly tribal or collectivist societies or in Western individualist ones, will need new postmodernist psychologies with which to navigate this new world.'
Definition?
Description of Relational Empathy
"Relational Knowing From within a sociocentric frame of reference, it becomes possible to understand empathy as a state of consciousness. It is a way of perceiving and knowing and a way of being connected to other consciousnesses, by which individual human beings gain access to the inner worlds of other individuals and to the workings of relationships, and whole ecologies, of which they are but parts. It is also a way through which relationships as entities, including groups, and communities can themselves become aware of themselves as wholes. Often this is accomplished through myth, ritual and other holistic forms of knowing"
"At this point it is possible to consider empathy from outside the modernist discourse and look afresh at this ubiquitous human activity from within a relational frame. From this new vantage point empathy ceases to be seen as the highly skilled instrumental activity of one autonomous individual—the therapist— intervening in the life of another—the client, while themselves remaining separate and unaffected. Instead, empathy becomes understandable as an essential feature of human relational connectedness; an expansion of a person's consciousness to include in the perceptual field the other as an individual, and the relationship with the other of which he or she is a part.
Notes:
"Empathy, in both egocentric and sociocentric modes, is an essential skill of both therapist and client in this process Egocentric empathy permits the therapist to know the client as a unique whole individual. Sociocentric empathy provides the therapist with ways of knowing the relationships in which their clients participate, including the therapeutic relationship. Relational psychologists may have an even more important contribution to make to the larger culture, by helping society bring into consciousness and develop the necessary skills to effectively deal with higher order relational realities so long ignored by Western cultures."
References
Anderson, W. T. (1990). Reality isn't what it used to be San Francisco: Harper and Row.
Barrett-Lennard, G. T. (1984). The world of family relationships: A person-centered systems view. In R. F. Levant & J. M. Shlien (Eds.), Client-centered therapy and the personcentered approach: New directions in theory, research, and practice (pp. 222-241). New York: Praeger.
Belenky, M. F., Clinchy, B. M., Goldberger, N. R., & Tarule, J. M. (1986). Women's ways of knowing: Development of self, voice, and mind. New York: Basic books.
Bellah, R. N., Madsen, R., Sullivan, W. M., & Tipton, S. M. (1985). Habits of the heart: Individualism and commitment in American life. New York: Harper and Row. Berman, M. (1989). Coming to our senses: Body and spirit in the hidden history of the West. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Bowen, M., O'Hara, M. M., Rogers, C. R., & Wood, J. K. (1979). Learning in large groups:Implications for the future. Education, 100, 108-117.
Bozarth, J. D. (1984). Beyond reflection: emergent modes of empathy. In R. F. Levant & J. M. Shlien (Eds.), Client-centered therapy and the person-centered approach: New directions in theory, research and practice New York: Praeger.
Buie, D. H. (1981). Empathy:Its nature and limitations. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 29, 281-307.
Carkuff, R. R. (1969). Helping and human relations, Vol.I: Selection and training. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
Chin, J. L. (1994). Psychodynamic approaches. In L. Comas-Diaz & B. Greene (Eds.), Womenof color:Integrating ethnic and gender identities in psychotherapy (pp. 194-222). NewYork: Guilford.
Clinchy, B. M., & Belenky, M. F. (1987). Women's ways of knowing: A theory and anintervention. Smith College School of Social Work:
Comas-Dias, L., & Greene, B. (1994.). Overview: Gender and ethnicity in the healing process.In L. Comas-Dias & B. Greene (Eds.), Women of color: Integrating ethnic and genderidentities in psychotherapy (pp. 185-198). New York: Guilford.
Comas-Diaz, L., & Greene, B. (Eds.). (1994). Women of color: Integrating ethnic and genderidentities in psychotherapy. New York: Guilford Press.
Cushman, P. (1992). Psychotherapy to 1992: Historically situated interpretation. In D. K.Freedheim (Ed.), History of psychotherapy: A century of change (pp. 21-63).Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association.
Dubos, R. (1981). Celebrations of life. New York: McGraw Hill.
Feigl, H. (1959). Philosophical embarrassments of psychology. American Psychologist, 14,
115-128.
Freud, S. (1920). Group psychology and the analysis of the ego. Standard Edition, 18, 110.
Gergen, K. J. (1991). The saturated self: Dilemmas of identity in contemporary Life (1 ed.).New York: Basic Books
Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and identity: Self and society in the late modern age. Stanford,CA: Stanford University Press.
Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women's development. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Greenson, R. R. (1960). Empathy and its vicissitudes. International Journal of Psychoanalysis,41, 418-583.
Haldane, J. B. S. (1954). The origins of life. New Biology, 16, 12-26.
Hockney, D. (1988). David Hockney: A retrospective. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Jones, R. L. (1991). Black psychology (3rd. ed.). Berkeley, California: Cobb & Henry.
Jordan, J. V., Kaplan, A. G., Miller, J. B., Stiver, I. P., & Surrey, J. L. (1991). Women's growthin connection: Writings from the Stone Center. new York: The Guilford Press.
King, A., & Schneider, B. (1991). The first global revolution: A report by the Council of The Club of Rome. New York: Pantheon Books.
Koestler, A. (1987). Janus: A summing up. New York: Random House.
Kohut, H. (1959). Introspection, empathy,and psychoanalysis: An examination of the relationship between mode of observation and theory. In P. H. Ornstein (Ed.), The search for self (pp. 205-232). New York: International Universities Press.
Kohut, H. (1984). How does analysis cure? Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Levin, D. M. (Ed.). (1987a). Pathologies of the modern self: Postmodern studies on narcissism, schizophrenia, and depression. New York: New York University Press.
Levin, D. M. (1987b). Psychopathology in the epoch of nihilism. In D. M. Levin (Ed.), Pathologies of the modern self: Postmodern studies on narcissism, schizophrenia, and depression (pp. 21-83). New York: New York University Press.
Levy, S. T. (1985). Empathy and psychoanalytic technique. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 33, 352-378
Maudsley, H. (1874). Responsibility in mental disease. In(pp. 28). London: Kegan Paul.
O'Hara, M. (1983). Patterns of awareness: Consciousness and the group mind. The Gestalt Journal, 6(2), 103-116.
O'Hara, M. (1989). Person-centered approach as conscientizacao: The works of Carl Rogers and Paulo Freire. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 29(1), 111-36.
O'Hara, M. (1994). Carl Rogers : Scientist or mystic? Journal of Humanistic Psychology, In press.
O'Hara, M. M. (1984). Person-centered Gestalt: Towards a holistic synthesis. In R. F. Levant & J. M. Shlien (Eds.), Client-centered therapy and the Person-centered approach: new directions in theory, research and practice. (pp. 203-221). New York: Praeger.
Polanyi, M. (1958). Personal knowledge: Towards a post-critical philosophy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Rogers, C. R. (1959). A theory of therapy, personality, and interpersonal relationships, as developed in the client-centered framework. In S. Koch (Ed.), Psychology: A study of a science (pp. 184-256). New York: McGraw Hill.
Rogers, C. R. (1977). Carl Rogers on personal power New York: Delacorte.
Rogers, C. R. (1980). A way of being Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Rogers, C. R. (1986). Rogers, Kohut, and Erickson: A personal perspective on some similarities and differences. Person-centered Review, 1(2), 125-140.
Roland, A. (1988). In search of self in India and Japan: Towards a cross-cultural psychology Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Rollins, H. E. (Ed.). (1958). Keats J.: The letters of John Keats.Vol 1 Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Romanyshyn, R. D. (1982). Psychological life: From science to metaphor Austin: University of Texas Press.
Rowe, E. C., & MacIsaacs, D. S. (1991). Empathic attunement Northvale, New Jersey: Jason Aronson Inc.
Schein, E. H. (1985). Organizational culture and leadership (First ed.). San Francisco: JosseyBass. Showalter, E. (1985). The female malady New York: Viking Penquin.
Shweder, R., & Bourne, E. J. (1982). Does the concept of the person vary cross culturally? In A. J. Marsella & G. M. White (Eds.), Cultural conceptions of mental health and therapy. Boston: Klewer.
Surrey, J. L. (1991). The self-in-relation: A theory of women's development. In J. V. Jordan, A. G. Kaplan, J. B. Miller, I. P. Stiver, & J. L. Surrey (Eds.), Women's growth in connection: Writings from the Stone Center
Taylor, C. (1989). Sources of the self: The making of the modern identity. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Truax, C. (1961). A scale for the measurement of accurate empathy. Psychiatric Institute Bulletin, 1(12), ?
Vanaerschot, G. (1990). The process of empathy: Holding and letting go. In G. Lietauer, J. Rombauts, & R. Van Balen (Eds.), Client and experiential psychotherapy in the nineties (pp. 267-293). Leuven, Belgium: Leuven University Press.