Biomaterial Database

Empathy and psychoanalytic technique. 1985

S T Levy

I have attempted to review the major psychoanalytic contributions to our understanding of empathy within the psychoanalytic situation. In doing so, I have discussed the relation between empathy and identification, reviewed aspects of the metapsychology of analytic comprehension, and have described the role of the analyst's evenly hovering attention in empathic responsiveness, as noted by several analytic investigators of empathy. The interrelations between empathy and countertransference have been described, and neutrality issues as they relate to empathy have been noted. Certain themes around the development of empathy have been grouped together and critically examined. The work of Kohut with regard to empathy has been discussed in relation to earlier psychoanalytic contributions of which it is an outgrowth and expansion. The changes in meaning and emphasis of empathic processes in Kohut's works have been described and critically reviewed. Empathy in its popular usage refers to the capacity of one person to communicatively partake, in a limited way, in the experience of another. In its differentiation from sympathy and pity, its noncritical or value-neutral character is emphasized. This description of empathy indicates its relevance to psychoanalytic technique, which shares many similar characteristics. Empathy is a general or superordinate term for many more specific aspects of the sensitive interpersonal interactions in the intimacy of relationships like the psychoanalytic one. Attempts to assign a particular psychoanalytic technical meaning to empathy or build clinical and developmental theory around empathy are limited by the multiple referents and generality of the concept. Empathy as a term has its place as descriptive of the analyst's emotional relatedness to the patient. It does not refer to any specific psychoanalytic technical intervention or theoretical construct; rather, it describes in a general way the sensitive, tactful, and experience-near way in which the analyst approaches the inner life of his patients.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007062	Identification, Psychological	A process by which an individual unconsciously endeavors to pattern himself after another. This process is also important in the development of the personality, particularly the superego or conscience, which is modeled largely on the behavior of adult significant others.	Identification (Psychology),Identification, Psychology,Identifications (Psychology),Identifications, Psychological,Identifications, Psychology,Psychological Identification,Psychological Identifications,Psychology Identification,Psychology Identifications
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D009034	Mother-Child Relations	Interaction between a mother and child.	Mother-Child Interaction,Mother-Child Relationship,Mother-Infant Interaction,Mother-Infant Relations,Interaction, Mother-Child,Interaction, Mother-Infant,Interactions, Mother-Child,Interactions, Mother-Infant,Mother Child Interaction,Mother Child Relations,Mother Child Relationship,Mother Infant Interaction,Mother Infant Relations,Mother-Child Interactions,Mother-Child Relation,Mother-Child Relationships,Mother-Infant Interactions,Mother-Infant Relation,Relation, Mother-Child,Relation, Mother-Infant,Relations, Mother-Child,Relations, Mother-Infant,Relationship, Mother-Child,Relationships, Mother-Child
D009289	Narcissism	A psychoanalytic term meaning self-love.	Narcissisms
D011369	Professional-Patient Relations	Interactions between health personnel and patients.	Contacting Clients,Pharmacist-Patient Relations,Professional Patient Relationship,Client, Contacting,Clients, Contacting,Contacting Client,Pharmacist Patient Relations,Pharmacist-Patient Relation,Professional Patient Relations,Professional Patient Relationships,Professional-Patient Relation,Relation, Pharmacist-Patient,Relation, Professional-Patient,Relations, Pharmacist-Patient,Relations, Professional-Patient,Relationship, Professional Patient,Relationships, Professional Patient
D011574	Psychoanalytic Theory	Conceptual system developed by Freud and his followers in which unconscious motivations are considered to shape normal and abnormal personality development and behavior.	Oral Character,Psychoanalytical Theory,Theory, Psychoanalytic,Character, Oral,Characters, Oral,Oral Characters,Psychoanalytic Theories,Psychoanalytical Theories,Theories, Psychoanalytic,Theories, Psychoanalytical,Theory, Psychoanalytical
D011575	Psychoanalytic Therapy	A form of psychiatric treatment, based on Freudian principles, which seeks to eliminate or diminish the undesirable effects of unconscious conflicts by making the patient aware of their existence, origin, and inappropriate expression in current emotions and behavior.	Balint Psychoanalytic Therapy,Psychoanalytic Therapy, Balint,Psychoanalytical Therapy,Therapy, Balint Psychoanalytic,Therapy, Psychoanalytic,Psychoanalytic Therapies,Psychoanalytical Therapies,Therapies, Psychoanalytic,Therapies, Psychoanalytical,Therapy, Psychoanalytical
D002657	Child Development	The continuous sequential physiological and psychological maturing of an individual from birth up to but not including ADOLESCENCE.	Infant Development,Development, Child,Development, Infant
D003379	Countertransference	Conscious or unconscious emotional reaction of the therapist to the patient which may interfere with treatment. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed.)	Countertransference, Psychology
D004645	Empathy	An individual's objective and insightful awareness of the feelings and behavior of another person. It should be distinguished from sympathy, which is usually nonobjective and noncritical. It includes caring, which is the demonstration of an awareness of and a concern for the good of others. (From Bioethics Thesaurus, 1992)	Caring,Compassion