Problems Are The Foremost Topic On The Minds Of The Majority

This literature review of the emergence of empathy does not adhere to any particular theoretical models, but to summarize research findings about what contributes to empathic responses. Firstly, we will focus on infants’ early social interactions. We focus on imitation, emotion matching, and emotional contagion as precursors of empathy. These support the formation of strong bonds of attachment with primary caregivers. This relationship promotes reciprocal responsiveness in the infant. Following a section on emotional attunement, we discuss research relating to infants’ abilities to discriminate emotions. Responses to other people’s displays of emotion are discussed and associated with prosocial behaviour and the cognitive skills that support its development. While there is little research addressing the neurobiology of empathy during infancy, links are proposed between studies of infant behaviour and neurospscyhology studies.

Furthermore, during empathizing, emotional reaction in the observer correlates with the fact that connections between the person’s mental state and his or her behavior are not always governed by lawful conduct of emotion. The response to the other person’s mental state creates a gap between systemizing and empathizing, for without empathetic response, one could only have a very small or inaccurate reading of a person’s emotion. The systemizer only expects that the person’s mental state will at least constrain their behavior. The level of empathy one has is greatly affected by how systematic they are.

issues qualify as common basic problems worldwide, with consequences for the functioning of societies, of

Addressing problems means more than quick fixes; it means dealing with conditions that create problems.

A therapist using narrative therapy considers race, gender, socio economic status, and sexual orientation in congruence with their interventions (Dallos and Vetere, 2014). The theory assumes that people have the skills, values, and commitments that can help them change their problems. The narrative framework of therapy focuses on multiple stories that have shaped a person’s identity (Dallos and Vetere, 2014). The clients can tell their stories and the therapist will find a common theme. The client’s stories will allow them to express themselves using their most memorable events that have “shaped their perspective on the world” (Dallos and Vetere, 2014). Usually narrative therapy will show that the client’s stories are “dominated with problems” and the clients have identified themselves with their issues (Dallos and Vetere, 2014). For example, instead of being a person who has experienced anxiety, the client will explain that they “have always been an anxious person”. The client, along with the therapist, can learn how to externalize the problem, specify the problem, change the negative to a positive, and tell a new, more positive narrative (Dallos and Vetere, 2014).

“Life experience is richer than discourse. Narrative structures organize and give meaning to experience, but there are always feelings and lived experience not fully encompassed by the dominant story” (White & Epston, 1990, p. 20). Effective therapy is seen as an enjoyable experience presenting options for dialogue, rather than monologues, about the problem.

L it is important to address the restraints both experienced and imagined that have been placed on him because of the social constructs of gender, race, age and social economic status. These preconceived ideologies come along with expected behaviors that Mr. L accommodate forcing him to continually try to be what he is not. Therapy from this perspective would focus on what the client is rather than who he is expected to be. Client’s awareness of himself as a unique being is of the outmost importance.

     Today many people seek professional therapy or counseling for a limited amount of time in order to deal with different life crises. Others seek professional help for the majority of their lives in order to deal with a psychological disorder. After reading this chapter on Therapy, I learned that this was not always the case, and that the way our society views therapy, and the meaning of therapy, has changed dramatically of the years. This chapter not only explains the evolution of therapy, it explores the different therapeutic approaches.

The real question is if this was actually the natural evolution of society, the tendency towards interpersonal connections that would have naturally progressed to the point of the empathy boxes, but was spurred onwards by the world war. Within our own society, we have the equivalent of the empathy boxes in the form of the internet, the worldwide network that gives us a constant connection to the rest of the human

Many problems currently trouble humanity, and everybody will argue that the problems they are currently facing

 ‘The person is not the problem, the problem is the problem is a widely known paradigm among systemic therapists and seeks to separate the person from the problem quite adequately. This in effect allows the Client an opportunity to see himself/herself differently without being labeled or blamed for the problem. The problem is then ‘externalized by the Therapist who through an abstract process will aim to treat the problem as an entity external to the client and will also give the problem a name. White & Epston (1990)

Most definitions of empathy are based on the same core idea - empathy is the ability to understand and identify someone else’s thoughts and feelings, as if they were one’s own (wordreference online dictionary, 2016). Although it’s been said “there are probably nearly as many definitions of empathy as people working on the topic.” (de Vignemont & Singer, 2006, p.435) suggesting that there is no singular way to even define empathy, let alone explain its impact on our behaviour. Due to the sheer depth and complexity of empathy it’s understandable that each discipline within psychology presents it’s own explanation for why we experience it, and how it can affect our interaction with the world around us. Psychologists have been exploring empathy for decades, in hope of gaining a complete grasp of what it means and how it can vary between each person, therefore its important we look at different psychological perspectives to try to understand it’s many dimensions.

solution to any problem, there are multiple that needs to be put together to make one

There are various struggles mankind is facing without a solution in sight. There are money related problems, sickness, suicide, deaths, heart breaks, curse, accidents, marriage problems, depression , fear oh you could keep on adding to this list.

To define and explicate this concept, I start by exploring some of the literature on empathy. There is an extensive empirical literature on empathy in the fields of neuroscience (see Thompson, 2001) and social psychology (see Davis, 1994). However, I confine my discussion here to the equally extensive (though sometimes overlooked) literature from phenomenology. Here, I draw on a range of theoretical ideas but the philosophical ideas of Husserl (1928/1989) on intersubjectivity and of Merleau-Ponty (1964/1968) on ‘embodiment as intertwining’ are particularly influential. While the focus in this literature review is on empathy, concepts related to embodiment and reflexivity are integral.