Empathie heute

Abstract

Empathy today. This article starts with the thesis: the heart of the client-centered therapeutic relationship is the client realizing the therapist’s empathic unconditional positive regard of the client’s own perspective of his process of experiencing. This relationship is the therapeutic relationship. The importance of empathy in therapeutic developments as well as those in childhood has been widely scientifically proven. Today the therapeutic relationship is regarded as extraordinarily relevant for therapeutic outcomes again, and empathy regarded as of substantial relevance within the therapeutic alliance. The neurosciences cast a new light on the phenomenon of empathy and affirm its relevance in developmental processes. Modern client-centered protagonists discuss new perspectives of empathy. The article ends with a short demonstration of one of these: relational depth.