Meeting summary
Edwin and Vikki discussed expanding the Empathy Circles curriculum and collaboration opportunities. Vikki shared their experience implementing empathy circles in therapeutic settings with children and at a university counseling program, while Edwin presented the current curriculum framework and invited Vikki to join the team. They explored potential research collaborations involving schools and discussed adding modules on empathy in education and leadership. The conversation also covered connections with other organizations, including the Empathy in Healthcare project at the University of Leicester, and plans for future meetings and contributions to the empathy movement.
Speak to Aaron about collaborating on empathy and education initiatives and invite him to the group.
Update Edwin via email regarding progress with the research and potential involvement of Kathy.
Post updates or information relevant to the group via the email list as progress is made.
Edwin and Vikki discussed their work with empathy training and therapy. Edwin explained his background in empathy development and his goal to create an off-the-shelf empathy curriculum that would be public domain. Vikki shared her experience using empathy circles in therapeutic interventions, particularly with children, and expressed interest in being more involved in expanding the empathy curriculum. Both discussed the potential for collaboration and agreed to explore further opportunities to work together.
Vikki shared her experience running an empathy circle at a university in Derbyshire, which was well-received by the lecturer and module lead. She expressed interest in collaborating with the empathy in healthcare project at the University of Leicester, which is led by Professor Jeremy Chase. Edwin suggested connecting Vikki with the Leicester team to explore potential collaborations, particularly given their proximity and shared focus on humanistic and person-centered approaches to empathy.
Edwin and Vikki discussed scaling up empathy as a cultural movement, focusing on bringing together different approaches like NVC and therapeutic processes. They explored the potential for empathy circles as peer support groups, with Vikki sharing her experience implementing them with a football team. The conversation concluded with a discussion about the possibility of conducting research in schools, including a potential PhD by publication project, to study the impact of empathy circle practices on students and teachers.
Vikki and Edwin discussed collaborating on a research study involving empathy circles in schools. Vikki mentioned their partnership with five schools and potential expansion to 26 more schools by September. They agreed to explore conducting the study in two to three schools, leveraging their existing relationships with universities and supervisors to handle ethics approval. Edwin shared his experience with empathy circles and emphasized their alignment with Carl Rogers' work, particularly in teaching empathy skills that can be applied beyond the therapeutic setting.
Vikki and Edwin discussed their experiences with empathy circles and potential collaboration on developing empathy-related curriculum modules. They explored ideas for incorporating empathy circles into educational settings, particularly for children and entrepreneurs. Edwin invited Vikki to join the Empathy Center's email group and attend weekly Friday meetings. Vikki expressed interest in developing an empathy in education module and mentioned plans to collaborate with Aaron and their university lecturer on related research. They agreed to follow up on these next steps, including connecting with the Empathy in Healthcare group and exploring advisory roles.