ERIC Number: EJ1208112
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2164-3989
EISSN: N/A
A Comparison of Empathy and Sympathy between Counselors-in-Training and Their Non-Counseling Academic Peers
Bloom, Zachary D.; McNeil, Victoria A.; Flasch, Paulina; Sanders, Faith
Professional Counselor, v8 n4 p341-354 2018
Empathy plays an integral role in the facilitation of therapeutic relationships and promotion of positive client outcomes. Researchers and scholars agree that some components of empathy might be dispositional in nature and that empathy can be developed through empathy training. However, although empathy is an essential part of the counseling process, literature reviewing the development of counseling students' empathy is limited. Thus, we examined empathy and sympathy scores in counselors-in-training (CITs) in comparison to students from other academic disciplines (N = 868) to determine if CITs possess greater levels of empathy than their non-counseling academic peers. We conducted a MANOVA and failed to identify differences in levels of empathy or sympathy across participants regardless of academic discipline, potentially indicating that counselor education programs might be missing opportunities to further develop empathy in their CITs. We call for counselor education training programs to promote empathy development in their CITs.
Descriptors: Empathy, Counselor Training, College Students, Intellectual Disciplines, Job Skills, Skill Development, Peer Relationship, Counselor Characteristics, Student Characteristics, Affective Behavior
National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc. and Affiliates. 3 Terrace Way, Greensboro, NC 27403. Tel: 336-547-0607; Fax: 336-547-0017; e-mail: TCPjournal@nbcc.org; Web site: http://tpcjournal.nbcc.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A