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Therapists' empathic accuracy toward their clients' emotions
Dana Atzil-Slonim1, Eran Bar-Kalifa1, Hadar Fisher1
1Department of Psychology.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
|November 27, 2018
Summary
Therapists accurately assessed clients' negative emotions but underestimated positive ones. Inaccurate empathic accuracy for positive emotions correlated with increased client symptoms, highlighting its importance in therapy outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychotherapy Research
Background:
- Empathic accuracy (EA) is a key clinical skill in psychotherapy.
- Limited research exists on EA's components and impact on treatment outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- Differentiate components of EA (tracking, discrepancy) and emotion valence (positive vs. negative).
- Investigate cognitive and emotional contributions to EA.
- Examine EA's association with psychotherapy outcomes.
Main Methods:
- 93 clients and 62 therapists in a university setting.
- Clients self-reported symptoms pre-session and emotions post-session.
- Therapists reported their own emotions and assessed clients' emotions post-session.
Main Results:
- Therapists showed higher accuracy for negative emotions than positive.
- Therapists overestimated clients' negative emotions and underestimated positive emotions.
- Therapists' own emotions influenced their client emotion assessments.
- Inaccurate EA for positive emotions predicted increased subsequent client symptoms.
Conclusions:
- Findings clarify characteristics of effective EA.
- EA is crucial for client emotional well-being and therapeutic success.