Premium
The experience of living with very high empathy: A critical realist, pragmatic approach to exploring objective and subjective layers of the phenomenon
Author(s) -
Leonard Sally Rachel Kate,
Willig Carla
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
counselling and psychotherapy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.38
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1746-1405
pISSN - 1473-3145
DOI - 10.1002/capr.12364
Subject(s) - empathy , psychology , personal distress , feeling , intrapersonal communication , empathic concern , interpersonal communication , emotional intelligence , distress , sympathy , social psychology , altruism (biology) , perspective taking , developmental psychology , clinical psychology
Aims/objectives Combining mixed methods in a pragmatic way, this research attempts to address the research question without being limited by methods’ philosophical and methodological constraints, which have traditionally separated quantitative and qualitative research. High empathy (HE) has been largely unexamined, considered an adaptive female skill facilitating interpersonal relationships. This research aims to contribute to the gap in research regarding the lived experience of HE. Methodology/method Within the critical realist paradigm, the Empathy Quotient (EQ) was used online to select the first eight participants who scored over 70/80 (average male score = 41/80, average female = 47/80). They were invited to a 90‐min interview, transcribed verbatim and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2009). Participants were women aged 25 to 68 years. Results/findings Using the EQ followed by IPA, we were able to significantly contribute to the existing research and theory, for example empathising‐systemising theory, mirror‐sensory synaesthesia, emotional intelligence, social intelligence, compassion fatigue, burnout, pathological altruism and compulsive caregiving syndrome. Discussion/conclusions HE is not simply an adaptive and socially beneficial skill as previously thought, nor is it pathological in itself. HE presented as significantly impacting intrapersonal and interpersonal processes sometimes for benefit within both the professional and personal realms but often with negative impact. Healthy management consists of clear boundaries between self/other and mature skills of emotional regulation lessening empathic distress (Pathological Altruism, 2012) allowing for empathic concern and feelings of emotional self‐esteem, in what participants termed ‘empathic wisdom’.