Empathy is the understanding the emotional state of another person. It’s like putting yourself into their shoes and understanding their experience and how that experience affected them. In the work that I have done with alcohol and drug abusers over the years I have come to realize that my client’s have never displayed any form of empathy for their their caretakers, marriage partners, siblings, or themselves. It’s no one’s fault.
I have come to the understanding that these individuals have never been taught “empathy” or how to apply it to their lives. So, I beg the question, “Can empathy be learned?”
to be continued…by MSO
