Article/Study Title:
Evidence for the Utility of a Photovoice Task as an Empathic Skill Acquisition Strategy Among Counselors-in-Training
DOI or Website Link: DOI: 10.1002/J.2161-1939.2013.00031.x
Publication: JOURNAL of HUMANISTIC COUNSELING
Authors: A. STEPHEN LENZ AND VARUNEE FAII SANGGANJANAVANICH
Date: April 2013
Affiliation(s): A. Stephen Lenz, Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Research, The University of Memphis; Varunee Faii Sangganjanavanich, Department of Counseling, The University of Akron.
Citation: Lenz, A. S., & Sangganjanavanich, V. F. (2013). Evidence for the utility of a Photovoice task as an empathic skill acquisition strategy among counselors-in-training. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, 52(April), 39-53.
Abstract: Cut and pasted:
An instructional technique derived from photovoice was compared with a didactic approach for empathic skill acquisition among 38 master's-level counselors-in-training. Participants in the photovoice condition demonstrated marked improvements in quality of empathic statements compared with those receiving didactic lecture. Considerations for implementing this educational approach are provided.
Topic Area:
Counselor training
(How was empathy defined?)
Empathic responding: 'Raskin and Rogers (2000) proposed an encompassing and accepted description of this empathic demonstration, and they stated that demonstrating empathy was "an active, immediate, and continuous process" (p. 147) in which the counselor becomes aware of the client's attitudes and feelings, experiences those states, and creates a mirror through which the client can explore and discover deeper meanings through the counselor's accurate understanding.'
(Were any benefits of empathy mentioned?)
"understand the experiences and affirm a holistic perspective of clients as they engage in the processes of growth and development over the life span"
(What were the methods used to train empathy?)
"Photovoice, a method of participatory pedagogy, involves the use of photographs to evaluate social and cultural phenomena associated with diverse populations by someone outside of the community that is depicted (Wang & Burris, 1997). In photovoice activities, participants are encouraged to critically examine photos of situations in communities that are different from theirs and to explain perceptions of the situations that represent a changed perspective."
Participatory visual analysis ... provides an opportunity to evaluate the world of diverse populations by having participants select photographs that have already been taken and narrate their subjective response to the images (Wang & Burris, 1997).
We hypothesized that engaging in this adaptation of a participatory visual analysis photovoice activity would be positively associated with CITs' increased ability to demonstrate empathic communication for client issues when responding to case example prompts.
In this quasi-experimental design, students in one course section were randomly selected to receive a traditional didactic lecture and the other to complete an alternative pedagogical strategy based on the participatory visual analysis task associated with photovoice; both groups addressed developing the knowledge and skills for communicating empathy with clients.
(Who participated in this study / training?)
40 master's-level counseling students (34 women, 6 men) completing an orientation to counseling course
(About the assessment: How was the change in empathy measured before/after the intervention/method?)
Pretest for level of empathy
Postlecture empathic skill acquisition assessment and self-reports
Result:
(What was the result?)
Our findings indicated that participants in the photovoice group increased their ability to demonstrate empathic responding as measured by their EQ (M = 7.22) when compared with participants in the traditional lecture condition (M = 4.06).
Our findings provide evidence supporting the hypothesis that a photovoice participatory visual analysis task is a more effective means for counselor educators to facilitate the demonstration of empathy by CITs when compared with didactic lecture.
Posted By:
Dorothy Della Noce
Notes:
(Any other relevant information)
Good discussion in article about experiential and multisensory learning. Instructions provided in how to carry out a photovoice task.
References:
Association for Experiential Education. (2010). What is experiential education? Retrieved from
http://www.aee.org/about/whatIsEE
Barone, D. E, Hutchings, P. S., Kinimel, H. ]., Traub, H. L., Cooper, J. T., & Marshall, C. M. (2005).
Increasing empathie accuracy through practice and feedback in a clinical interviewing
course. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 24,156-171. doi:10.1521 /jscp.24.2.156.62275
Barrett-Lennard, G. T. (1981). The empathy cycle: Refinement of a nuclear concept. Journal of
Counseling Psychology, 25, 91-100. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.28.2.91
Blatner, A., & Blatner, A. (1991). Imaginative interviews: Apsychodramatic warm-up for developing
role-playing skills. Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Psychodrama & Sociometry, 44,115-120.
Book, H. E. (1988). Empathy: Misconceptions and misuses in psychotherapy. American Journal
of Psychiatry, 145, 420-424.
Carkhuff, R. R. (1993). The art of helping (7th ed.). Amherst, MA: Human Resources Development
Press.
Catalani, C, & Minkler, M. (2009). Photovoice: A review of the literature in health and public
health. Health Education and Behavior, 37, 424-451. doi:10.1177/1090198109342084
Chapman, E., Baron-Cohen, S., Auyeung, B., Knickmeyer, R., Taylor, K., & Hackett, G. (2006).
Fetal testosterone and empathy: Evidence from the empathy quotient (EQ) and the "Reading
the Mind in the Eyes" test. Social Neuroscience, 1,135-148. doi:10.1080/17470910600992239
Chio, V. C. M., & Fandt, P. M. (2007). Photovoice in the diversity classroom: Engagement,
voice, and the "eye/I" of the camera. Journal of Management Education, 31, 484-504.
doi:10.1177/1052562906288124
Clark, A. (2004). Empathy: Implications of three ways of knowing in counseling. Journal of
Humanistic Counseling, Education and Development, 43, 141-151.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for thebehavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbauin.
Dale, E. (1969). Audiovisual methods in teaching. New York, NY: Dryden Press.
Darbyshire, P., Macdougall, C, & Schiller, W. (2005). Multiple methods in qualitative
research with children: More insight or just more? Qualitative Research, 5, 417-436.
doi:10.1177/1468794105056921.
Decety, J., & Jackson, P. L. (2006). A social-neuroscience perspective on empathy. Current Directions
in Psychological Science, 15, 54-58. doi:10.1111/j.0963-7214.2006.00406.x
DeKanter, N. (2005). Gaming redefines interactivity for learning. TechTrends: Unking Research
& Practice to Improve Learning, 49, 26-31
Deloney, L. A., & Graham, C. J. (2003). Wit: Using drama to teach first-year medical students
about empathy and compassion. Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 15,247-251. doi:10.1207/
S15328015TLM1504
Downey, L., Ireson, C, & Scutchfield, F. (2009). The use of photovoice as a method of facilitating
deliberation. Health Promotion Practice, 10, 419-427. doi:10.1177/1524839907301408
Feller, C. P., & Cottone, R. (2003). The importance of empathy in the therapeutic alliance.
Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education and Development, 42, 53-61.
Fernald, P. S. (1995). Teaching students to listen empathically Teaching of Psychology, 22,
183-186. doi:10.1207/sl5328023top2203
Freedberg, S. (2007). Re-examining empathy: A relational-feminist point of view. Social Work
52, 251-259.
Gladstein, G. A., & Feldstein, J. C. (1983). Using film to increase counselor empathie experiences.
Counselor Education and Supervision, 23, 125-131.
Gosselink, C, & Myllykangas, S. (2007). The leisure experiences of older U.S. women living with
HIV/AIDS. Health Care for Women International, 28,3-20. doi:10.1080/07399330601001402
Harrison, B. (2002). Photographic visions and narrative inquiry. Narrative Inquiry, 12, 87-111.
doi:10.1075/ni.l2.1.14har.
Hodges, N. J., Chua, R., & Franks, L M. (2003). The role of video in facilitating perception
and action of a novel coordination movement. Journal of Motor Behavior, 35, 247-260.
doi;10.1080/00222890309602138
Kottler, J., Montgomery, M. J., & Marbley, F. (1998). Three variations on a theme: The power
of pure empathy. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education and Development, 37, 39-46.
doi:10.1002/j.2164-4683.1998.tb00404.x
Kunst-Wilson, W., Carpenter, L., Poser, A., Venohr, I., & Kushner, K. (1981). Empathie perceptions
of nursing students: Self-reported and actual ability. Research in Nursing and Health,
4, 283-293.
LoCicero, A., & Hancock, J. (2000). Preparing students for success in fieldwork. Teaching of
Psychology, 27,117-120. doi:10.1207/S15328023TOP2702_09
Lockett, D., Willis, A., & Edwards, N. (2005). Through seniors' eyes: An exploratory qualitative
study to identify environmental barriers to and facilitators of walking. Canadian Journal
of Nursing Research, 37, 48-65.
Martz, E. (2001). Expressing counselor empathy through the use of possible selves. Journal of
Employment Counseling, 38, 128-133.
McAuliffe, G. J., & Eriksen, K. P. (2002). Classroom strategies for constructivist and developmental
counselor education. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.
Moyn, S. (2006). Empathy in history, empathizing with humanity. History and Theory, 45,397-415.
Pranis, K. (2000, Spring). Empathy development in youth through restorative practices. Public
Service Psychology Newsletter, 25(2). Retrieved from http://www.corr.state.mn.us/rj/
publications/rjempathy.htm
Preston, S. D., Bechara, A., Damasio, H., Grabowski, T. J., Stansfield, R. B., & Damasio, R.
B. (2007). The neural substrates of cognitive empathy. Social Neuroscience, 2, 254-275.
doi:10.1080/174709101376902
Raskin, N. J., & Rogers, C. R. (2000). Person-centered therapy. In R. J. Corsini & D. Wedding
(Eds.), Current psychotherapies (6th ed., pp. 133-167). Belmont, CA: Thompson Learning.
Rogers, C. R. (1957). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 11, 95-103. doi:10.1037/h0045357
Rogers, C. R. (1980). A way of being. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Romm, J. (2007). Teaching empathy, learning about equanimity. Archives of Women's Mental
Health, 10, 91-92.
Shaffer, D. W., Squire, K. R., Halverson, R., & Gee, J. P. (2005). Video games and the future of
learning. Phi Delta Kappan, 87,105-111.
Shaffer, R. (1983). Beyond the dispensary. Nairobi, Kenya: African Medical and Research
Foundation.
Shapiro, J. (2008). Walking a mile in their patients' shoes: Empathy and othering in medical
students' education. Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medieine, 3,10. doi:10.1186/1747-
5341-3-10
Stepien, K. A., & Baernstein, A. (2006). Educating for empathy. Journal of General Internal
Medicine, 21, 524-530. doi:10.1111/j.l525-1497.2006.00443.x
Stevens, C. (2006). Being healthy: Voices of adolescent women who are parenting. Journal for
Specialists in Pédiatrie Nursing, 11, 28-40. doi:10.1111/j.l744-6155.2006.00041.x
Streng, J., Rhodes, S., Ayala, G., Eng, E., Arceo, R., & Phipps, S. (2004). Realidad Latina: Latino adolescents,
their school, and a university use photovoice to examine and address the influence
of immigration./owraa; o/ífíferpro/essiDn«; Care, IS, 403-415. doi:10.1080/13561820400011701.
Suri, J. F. (2001). The next 50 years: Future challenges and opportunities for empathy in our
science. Ergonomics, 44, 1278-1289. doi:10.1080/00140130110105850
Sweeney, T. J. (2009). Adlerian counseling and psychotherapy: A practitioner's approach (5th ed.).
New York, NY: Routledge.
Toranzo, N. C. (1996). Empathy development: A critical classroom tool. The Volta Review 98
107-125.
Van Hell, J. G., Bosman, A. M. T., & Bartelings, M. C. G. (2003). Visual dictation improves the
spelling performance of three groups of Dutch students with spelling disabilities. Learning
Disability Quarterly, 26, 239-255. doi:10.2307/1593637
Wang, C, & Burris, M. A. (1997). Photovoice: Concept, methodology, and use for participatory
needs assessment. Health Education & behavior, 24,369-387. doi:10.1177/109019819702400309
Winefield, H. R., & Chur-Hansen, A. (2000). Evaluating the outcome of communication skill
teaching for entry-level medical students: Does knowledge of empathy increase? Medical
Education, 34, 90-94.