Cultivating Empathy: Inspiring Health Professionals to Communicate More Effectively (Revised Edition)

Author(s): Kathleen Stephany

DOI: 10.2174/9789815036480122010006

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When the Client/Patient Feels All Alone

Pp: 36-51 (16)

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Abstract

SHS investigation development is considered from the geographical and historical viewpoint. 3 stages are described. Within Stage 1 the work was carried out in the Department of the Institute of Chemical Physics in Chernogolovka where the scientific discovery had been made. At Stage 2 the interest to SHS arose in different cities and towns of the former USSR. Within Stage 3 SHS entered the international scene. Now SHS processes and products are being studied in more than 50 countries.

Abstract

In Chapter Two, personal stories are shared by people who experienced or
witnessed a lack of empathy. These stories are not intended to place blame on helpers.
The goal is to assist practitioners with a better understanding of what it feels like to be
treated with a lack of care in order to ultimately inform practice. We learn that
communication is a two-way process and health practitioners can improve their
capacity for empathy by becoming better listeners and more self-aware. Four specific
narrative case studies are examined closely, followed by the identification of key
themes and questions for discussion. The first is a story of what it feels like to be afraid
to speak up. In the second situation, a patient receives bad news but has no one to turn
to for comfort. The third involves a Coroner’s investigation that explores what
happened before someone ended their life. The last narrative tells a story of a patient
who is treated with a lack of respect. In the Case in Point, a nurse recounts what it felt
like to be a patient who was treated with indifference. At the end of the Chapter,
reflective journaling is encouraged to increase self-awareness as a means to improve
our capacity to act with empathy.

Keywords:

Coroner’s investigation, Detached concern, Empathy, Hopelessness, Indifference, Narratives, Objectification, Psychological autopsy, Safety plan, Self-awareness, Stigma, Stories.

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