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BATTLE BETWEEN EMPATHY VS EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT

So often when one goes through hard times, in an effort to be helpful, we want to give advice, finish the individual’s sentence or interrupt without pausing and simply listening. We as therapists have a sole purpose of caring for a patient’s overall health and ensuring this is a main priority. This includes physical, mental and emotional well-being.Empathy can be defined as the ability to sense other people’s emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling (Waal, 2010). Can we as practitioners be empathetic towards our patient’s and their current feelings, situation or perspective without having an emotional “tie” or becoming emotionally invested with our patients?

Displaying empathy towards our patients is a very important trait to possess. It has been stated that patients should be provided with competent and empathetic care from their clinicians (Bouk, 2012). Research was conducted with 20,000 patients in Italy and it suggests that high levels of empathy displayed by physicians correlate with better clinical outcomes for their patients (Bouk, 2012). Additionally, a recent study found that most patients remember how their clinicians made them feel when they received treatment. (Strongwater, 2018)This emphasizes the importance of clinical empathy as it can enhance patient satisfactionand outcomes in terms of rehabilitation as the patient feels a greater sense of motivation to return to normal function (Strongwater, 2018).

In order to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes, we must strike a balance between emotion and thought and between our patients and ourselves (Stern, 2015). Otherwise, empathy becomes a trap, and we can feel as if we’re being held hostage by the feelings of our patients. The art of empathy requires paying attention to patient’s needs without sacrificing one’s own andspecifically ensuring we protect ourselves from emotional attachments to patients.How do we as practitioners draw the line of being empathetic without becoming emotionally attached? This is the moral dilemma we face daily.

Patients that I have come into contact with on clinical rotations have opened up about their daily struggles– husband beating wife up, death of a child, injuries due to gang violence, all of which, I have difficulty relating too. This is due to the fact that I have not experienced the exact same situation first hand. I am aware that it is my duty as a clinician to display empathy by attempting to understand what the patient is going through however, the manner in which I act upon it, is very important. Originally, I had gone home and thought about what the patients had told me and I felt as if I was now carrying their baggage on my shoulders. I came to the realization that I could not repetitively put myself through this emotional strain, as it would only cause me heartache and distress. In order to not become emotionally attached to a patient, I have begun to learn that it is best toact on understanding what challenges the patient is facing and to rather display empathy in a helpful therapeutic way. Once the treatment session is done then I am too leave their struggles in that very room. By doing this, I create a barrier between myself and the patient in order to ensure that there is no emotional tie or attachment.

The image depicts the idea of having an emotional tie with a patient, which is something I experienced first hand. I found this image to be very powerful as it shows how the patient opens up their heart to you as well as entrusting with their health however, I have realised that the string that is attached to the heart in the image, needs to be cut once the session with the patient is completed. This is due to the fact that I became emotionally invested with a patient when I was on rotation at Delft clinic. I had taken her stories home with me and I felt that wanted to help the patient beyond therapeutic measures due to her heart aching home circumstances. I often lay awake wondering if the patient was okay as she was being abused at home which is something I cannot relate too however I felt that I admired the patient for being so strong given the circumstances. After our 5 week rotation, having to say goodbye to the patient was heart breaking and I realised that I could not relive the experience of becoming emotionally invested with a patient as my emotional and mental state was taking strain emphasizing the need to cut the string attached to heart in the image above.

There is no correct or generic strategy in order to prevent a clinician from becoming emotionally attached to a patient. However I believe with time and experience, as a practitioner, one learns what the best way to deal with the emotional side to our profession that is suitable to the individual.

REFERENCE LIST

 IMAGE LINK : https://za.pinterest.com/pin/516295544780888666/

Bouk, L. (2012, September 13th ). Physician Empathy Linked to Better Patient Outcomes. Medscape .

Waal, F. D. (2010, June). Empathy Defined. Retrieved Augusr 7th, 2019, from Greater Good Magazine: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/empathy/definition

Strongwater, S. (2018, January 23rd). How to Integrate Empathy Into Daily Care. NEJM Journalist .

Stern, R. (2015, August 14th ). How to Avoid the Empathy Trap. Mindful.