Authentic Counselling Training
An Eleven Point Empathy Scale
[Under construction: 7 February 2005 ]
This
document in all parts is copyright © Peter Hughes from the date of construction
given above. Please feel free to make use of them for solely personal purposes.
However, should you wish to use them for teaching, training, commercial or
other purposes, you are required to ask me first.
|
-2 |
Internally and verbally rejecting the speaker’s disclosure,
either by outright refusal to listen, or by feeling judgmental and expressing
judgment |
|
-1 |
Internally denying the emotional value of what the speaker
is saying; either verbally minimising the emotional value, or hijacking in
order to divert attention |
|
0 |
Internally uninterested in the speaker’s disclosure but
being unable or unwilling to break contact, giving verbally neutral responses
(such as “Mmm” and “Uh-huh”), which, whilst communicating
attention, suggest neither interest nor rejection. |
|
1 |
Internally interested in the speaker’s disclosure, and
verbally acknowledging the factual content of the speaker’s disclosure by the
use of paraphrases, and by asking factual questions. |
|
2 |
Internally interested in the speaker’s disclosure, understanding
the factual content, and having sympathy for the emotional content;
communicating understanding of the speaker’s disclosure by use of accurate
summaries, and communicating sympathy by expressions of reassurance, warmth,
pity, by using phrases such as “I know how you feel”, and asking questions
such as “How did that make you feel?” |
|
3 |
Understanding the factual content and emotional content of
the speaker’s disclosures; communicating understanding of the speaker’s
disclosure by use of pithy partial summaries, and accurate reflections (such
as formula reflections and paraphrase reflections, that link together
emotion/feeling and its associated circumstance). |
|
4 |
Understanding the factual content and emotional content of
the speaker’s disclosures, and recognising their in/congruence with the
speaker’s non-verbal and para-verbal communication; communicating understanding
of the speaker’s disclosure by use of pithy partial summaries, accurate
reflections and immediacy statements (for example: “I notice that you
shuddered as you said that you’ve set the date for the wedding.”). |
|
5 |
Understanding the factual content and emotional content of
the speaker’s disclosures, and recognising their in/congruence with the
speaker’s non-verbal and para-verbal communication, and recognising the
metaphorical nature of parts of the speaker’s communication; communicating
understanding of the speaker’s disclosure by use of pithy partial summaries,
accurate reflections and immediacy statements; and exploration of the
speaker’s metaphors and images. |
|
6 |
Understanding the factual content and emotional content of the speaker’s disclosures, including recognising their in/congruence with the speaker’s non-verbal and para-verbal communication, in the context of the speaker’s broader frame of reference; communicating understanding of the speaker by use of pithy partial summaries, accurate reflections, immediacy statements; exploring the speaker’s metaphors and images; exploring the speaker’s disclosures in comparison with the speaker’s broader frame of reference. |
|
7 |
Being so in tune with the speaker that the listener at that moment can speak and think as if the speaker, understanding the factual content and emotional content of the speaker’s disclosures, including recognising their in/congruence with the speaker’s non-verbal and para-verbal communication, in the context of the speaker’s broader frame of reference; communicating understanding of the speaker by use of pithy partial summaries, accurate reflections, immediacy statements; exploring the speaker’s disclosures in comparison with the speaker’s broader frame of reference; exploring the speaker’s metaphors and images, and presenting for exploration the listener’s metaphors and images. |
|
8 |
Subceiving speaker-material at, or just beyond, the edge of the speaker’s awareness, while also being so in tune with what is in the speaker’s awareness that the listener at that moment can speak and think as if the speaker, understanding the factual content and emotional content of the speaker’s disclosures, including recognising their in/congruence with the speaker’s non-verbal and para-verbal communication, in the context of the speaker’s broader frame of reference. |
This
document in all parts is copyright © Peter Hughes from the date of construction
given above. Please feel free to make use of them for solely personal purposes.
However, should you wish to use them for teaching, training, commercial or
other purposes, you are required to ask me first.