The Power of Empathy

I just wanted to take this time to tell you about a rewarding and educational experience I had this week on fieldwork. I did not know who my patient would be when I got to the site this week. When I got my assignment, I went down to the patient's room with the intentions of having a brief conversation to see what she would like to work on. When I entered the room and introduced myself, the lady grew very agitated and started complaining about the disorganization of staff and did not want to work with me. There was a brief moment when I thought about accepting her rejection but instead decided that I would view this as an opportunity. The pt. obviously had alot of pent-up anger that she needed to get out as she didn't stop with the first complaint. She continued to express complaints for the next 20 min. -about the menu, the staff, her condition, etc. I stayed with her and used my empathy skills that we have reviewed so much in the classroom and it worked. It was obvious that she just needed someone to listen to her and validate her feelings. She didn't need me to fix anything, she just needed to feel my concern. After the 20 minutes of talking, it seemed the well had run dry and she treated me very differently. She was willing to do a treatment session and was very pleasant from that point on. I am sure that being a patient in any type of institution takes a psychological toll on an individual and has the potential to make them feel like their voice doesn't count. It was a lesson to me that as a therapist, you can't use your clinical skills to help a patient if you don't first use empathy and listening skills to break down the psychological barriers.