ABSTRACT
Empathy, although widely accepted as a core counselling skill, is one of the most challenging skills to describe. This chapter explores some of the different definitions of empathy. Terms such as empathic understanding, empathic listening, empathic reflection and empathic responding are sometimes used interchangeably. The traditional emphasis of empathy has been on understanding emotions and feelings. There is also the question of whether it is actually possible or even desirable to fully understand someone else's experiences or feelings. Empathic responding is connected to the use of reflecting emotional/feeling content. Advanced empathy suggests being able to hear and reflect deeper feelings than the client was able to verbalise, or being able to synthesize meaning across previously discussed topics'. Empathy in a professional context is, therefore, more challenging. Reflections represent a way of formulating communication which is neither a question nor a demand or even advice.
