Empathetic social work – cultivating empathy in our society
Keywords:
empathy, reflective empathy, social work, social pedagogyAbstract
This review examines empathy’s key role in social work, its challenges, and especially reflective empathy. A multidimensional examination of empathy reveals how vulnerable it is to outside influences. In the social sector, it is particularly important to look at empathy as a skill to be developed. But at its core, empathy is not just a feeling or a skill to be developed, but a much broader way to see the world and understand the affecting cultural, political, and societal dimensions. In care professions, empathy is often associated with empathy fatigue. Empathy also has an impact on the quality of social work and the well-being of the workers. Reflective empathy, as a solution to the challenges of empathy, is based on the ability to
differentiate between different dimensions of empathy, while outlining how our worldviews, feelings, assumptions, and attitudes affect it. Reflective empathy and social pedagogical values and action make it possible to work toward a more humane and empathetic culture.
