ABSTRACT
The above heading is constructed from words used by Rogers (1975: 4-6) in his updating of his views on empathy. They reflect the widespread person-centred belief that empathy is an essential attribute of a successful therapist. In Rogers (1957: 101), being empathic is defined as ‘to sense the client’s private world as if it were your own, but without ever losing the “as if” quality’. Being empathic is to perceive the internal frame of reference of the other with accuracy while at the same time not becoming absorbed in or overwhelmed by it. Sanders (2006b: 66) makes a useful distinction between perceiving the world of another person and experiencing it. He writes ‘I cannot feel someone else’s hurt, fears and joys. I can, though, see their thoughts and feelings accurately and understand them [original emphases].’ It is this sensing and the communication of it to the client that constitutes the empathic process in therapy. To passively sense and understand is not enough, however accurate the understanding. In his later paper, Rogers (1975: 4) offers a richer definition:
This is asking a lot and Rogers goes on to point out how complex and demanding the task of being empathic is, referring to it (p. 4) as a ‘strong yet subtle and gentle way of being’. It is these things but, because it involves real contact with the experience of another, it can also be richly rewarding.
