Johnson-Scott 

VIDEO: Is Empathy Sin? | Dr. Steve Johnson & Dr. Seth Scott    Sep 12, 2021    20min 

• • Moderated by David Croteau  - Columbia International University

  • Dr. Steve Johnson Professor of Counseling - President at Albert Ellis Institute

  •  Dr. Seth Scott   Professor of Counseling Elder at Radius Church 

A dialogue about the concept of empathy is sin.

• • Steve Johnson starts off 

    • we have so much scientific research  and meta studies  that shows the value of empathy in making change

  • Seth Scott  

    • agree, there is so much is the counseling literature that shows empathy is effective.

    • being with the client, showing you understand their perspective, you see them

  •  David Croteau 

    • seems that a lot of what is going on is the definitions. What are some definitional terms?

    • Steve Johnson

      •   broader perspective - there's a category of attitudes with emotions from, pity to sympathy, empathy all the way up to compassion

      • these are umbrella terms  and abstracts, what are the  components

      • pity - experiencing distress because the other is experiencing distress'

      • sympathy - a bit more emotional distance in that process not the full kind of sharing in the perspective or not sharing in the  the emotional response

      • empathy  is much more about really getting in and understanding the perspective to the degree that we can understanding the person's perspective and their emotional response 

      • Compassion is that i suffer along with their suffering

    • Steve Johnson

      • with empathy you can't totally feel what the person is feeling... it's not going to happen. it is the attempt to try to get close to grasp that.

      • Compassion, is there an action component to that?

    • Seth Scott  

      • we see Jesus regularly interacting with people and Jesus was move to compassion and drive a response to do something.

    • Steve Johnson

      • If client feels that the counselor has empathy they are much more likely to change for the better

      • great change

      • with science we see mirror neurons that show how empathy works.

    • Seth Scott  

      • So the error in the assumption that that says sin is empathy is this assumption that in feeling with someone else, you lose all sense of self all sense of perspective or capacity to maintain even groundedness in your your own sense  of authority, of perspective, of cognition.

      • we are not in emotion or cognitions but in a continuously shifting  multiplicity of influence between those factors 

      • We can get lost in another persons perspective, but saying empathy is only being lost in the perspective of the other is an over generalization.

    •  David Croteau 

      • so empathy is not you getting lost in the other persons emotions, but it can happen.

    • Seth Scott 

      • it's called enmeshment or fusion, where we lose our identity. we would say it is not healthy to lose yourself. or codependence. 

    •  David Croteau 

      • method actors

    • Seth Scott 

      • without empathy come across as hardened, detached. 

      • a councilors were are called to walk with someone.  and bringing a aspect of god perspective.

      • Jesus has empathy

    • Steve Johnson

      • is sympathy more object that empathy.  absolutely not

      • with empathy it allows an objective response. 

      • the mirror neurons light up.

      • with psychopaths', their mirror neurons don't light up

    • Seth Scott 

      • "sympathy for others is not enough a biblical sort of empathy is necessary init the counselor enters into the counseling's problem in such a way that the counselor sees more deeply than his  counselee.  He reaches so deeply that he  not only sees and feels the dimension of  the problem as his counsel he does but  beyond that he sees god's solution to it ."  Heath Lambert

      • empathy joins in with the person. to have a relationship.  gives a deeper insight and connection. 

    •  David Croteau 

      • • the empathy is sin people, they are pointing out a danger. . how would you word that.?

        • is it a legitimate danger?

    • Seth Scott 

      • • they are concerned that in the culture we affirm everything some is experiencing and that we can not interject a perspective. 

        • existential humanism - affirms everything someone says.

        • with empathy you have rational detachment and perspective  as well.

        •