Realising the Impact of Empathy and Thoughtful Awareness – Part 1
During the last decade, I have had the opportunity to work and volunteer in a variety of different settings from a local centre for at-risk youth to a hospice (read more about my experiences in Part 2). I realised that many people appear to benefit the most from genuine, non-judgmental connection where they are seen as individuals, with vulnerabilities and needs, rather than by a label or problem to be solved. As I began working more directly in the counselling field, I realised that with empathy and psychotherapeutic interventions, people can gain greater awareness of their experiences. With this understanding of what causes us to feel overwhelmed, sad, angry, or scared, to always be tense, tired, or restless, to have difficulties with eating and sleeping, to feel helpless or apathetic, to find our relationships or work are lacking etc., we can start to work on coping with such concerns. Genuine connection with a therapeutic lens and thoughtful awareness is often the first step towards improved living.
We often set aside thoughtful self-awareness because we are too busy, because it can be scary, because it’s difficult to understand ourselves and our lives when we are a part of it all. Psychology is perhaps a relatively newer area of study in Western science because it is difficult for us to recognize something we are a part of. There is a proverb from Eastern philosophy, that fish are the last to discover water. We can apply this proverb to the difficulty of recognizing and exploring our personal experiences. When we are submersed in our experiences, it is difficult for us to fully see and understand them. Counselling can be a place to start this exploration. It’s important to take time to build rapport with your counsellor. As you experience a genuine relationship with your counsellor where you feel valued and respected, you will feel safer to continually build awareness of your life.
With counselling that focuses on genuine connection and awareness, we can:
1. pause
2. develop greater understanding of our inner and outer experiences (including social experiences), especially our vulnerabilities and needs
3. feel empowered through this understanding
4. learn and apply coping tools
5. develop our ability to respond rather than react
6. explore intentions and goals
7. act towards greater authentic, valued living
Check out these articles on the importance of awareness in mental health:
