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Culture of Empathy Builder: Amber Bennett-Weston

Wholistic Empathy and Clinical Empathy

Amber Bennett-Weston

In this dialogue Amber Bennett-Weston and Edwin Rutsch discuss the definition of Empathy. Amber Bennett-Weston's, research has focused on patient involvement in professional healthcare training. In her current role at the Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare, Amber is involved in several research projects on clinical empathy. One research project was to coauthor a paper the explores the definition of clinical empathy called, "An empathy definition at last: exposing the narcissism of small differences."

Edwin Rutsch is the director of The Empathy Circle. He is the developer of the Wholistic Empathy Definition Model which is based in the Empathy Circle practice.

"If we couldn't reconcile the definitions of empathy, the serious problems related to the concept's ambiguity would be destined to persist. For example, it would remain difficult to choose between the plethora of methods for measuring empathy, or interpret and implement studies of empathy's benefits."

Video: Wholistic Empathy and Clinical Empathy:
Edwin Rutsch & Amber Bennett-Weston

Otter.ai 2025-08-13 - Amber Bennett-Weston

Transcript

https://otter.ai/u/cdIr7IVCe8lmCqszXKrFUbxTXSA?view=summary

Edwin Rutsch and Amber Bennett-Weston discuss the complexities of defining and measuring empathy, particularly in clinical settings. Amber's research at the Stony Brook, Brook Stoney gate center for empathic healthcare, focuses on enhancing empathy in healthcare training and practice. They critique the affective-cognitive empathy model, advocating for a holistic approach that includes self-empathy and imaginative empathy. Amber's team is developing a short, simple scale to measure empathy in healthcare, considering patient and practitioner perspectives. They emphasize the importance of empathy in reducing burnout, improving patient outcomes, and fostering a supportive healthcare environment.

Action Items

[ ] @Edwin Rutsch - Explore the use of empathy circles with healthcare students and professionals to support their well-being and foster mutual empathy
[ ] Develop a short, simple scale to measure empathy in healthcare contexts
[ ] Conduct systematic reviews on the impact of empathy on patient adherence to treatments and changes in empathy levels during medical training

Outline

Introduction and Background of Amber Bennett-Weston

Edwin Rutsch introduces himself as the Director of the Center for building a culture of empathy and introduces Amber Bennett-Weston, a postdoctoral research associate at the Stony Brook, Brook Stoney gate center for empathic healthcare.
Amber Bennett-Weston explains her role at the Stoney gate center for empathic healthcare, based in Leicester, UK, which aims to improve patient outcomes by embedding a culture of empathy within healthcare and healthcare training.
Amber mentions that they deliver training at the Leicester medical school, teaching medical students specific interventions to enhance their empathy, and plan to expand their training to other healthcare professions.
Edwin Rutsch expresses interest in discussing the definition of empathy, particularly clinical empathy, and mentions a paper he co-authored with Jeremy Howick on the topic.

Challenges in Defining Empathy

Amber Bennett-Weston agrees with Edwin Rutsch that the divide between cognitive and affective empathy is problematic and was a motivation for their study.
They conducted a study reviewing over 3000 papers on clinical or therapeutic empathy and found that most definitions have more in common than they differ.
Edwin Rutsch discusses his work on the affective-cognitive model of empathy, which he finds confusing and ineffective, and mentions Carl Rogers' work on empathy in clinical psychology.
Amber explains that in the healthcare literature, effective empathy is often about feeling the same emotions as the patient, while cognitive empathy is about understanding without necessarily feeling the same emotions.

Components of Empathy

Edwin Rutsch elaborates on the affective-cognitive model, explaining that affective empathy involves sensing and feeling emotions, while cognitive empathy involves understanding and perspective-taking.
Amber Bennett-Weston discusses their model, which contradicts the idea that healthcare professionals should not feel anything when empathizing with patients.
Edwin Rutsch introduces his holistic empathy definition model, which includes basic empathy, self-empathy, and imaginative empathy, and emphasizes the importance of mutual active listening in an empathy circle.
Amber resonates with Edwin's model and highlights the importance of maintaining boundaries in empathy, recognizing the difference between the practitioner's and patient's experiences.

Empathy in Healthcare Settings

Amber Bennett-Weston explains that clinical or therapeutic empathy is relational and involves active listening, understanding, and communicating with the patient.
They discuss the importance of shared understanding between the practitioner and patient, and the role of emotional engagement in empathy.
Amber emphasizes that empathy in healthcare is about taking action, such as prescribing treatment or showing the patient that they are understood and validated.
Edwin Rutsch and Amber agree that empathy is not about feeling the same emotions as the patient but about connecting emotionally and taking appropriate action.

Barriers to Empathy in Healthcare

Amber Bennett-Weston discusses the common misconception that empathy leads to burnout, explaining that empathy can actually reduce burnout and increase job satisfaction.
They highlight the importance of maintaining boundaries in empathy to avoid emotional overload.
Edwin Rutsch mentions criticisms of empathy, such as the book "Against Empathy," and discusses the confusion around what empathy is and its negative portrayal in the media.
Amber and Edwin agree that empathy is often misunderstood and that it is crucial to clarify its definition and benefits.

Empathy in Organizations

Amber Bennett-Weston discusses their work on empathic teamworking in healthcare, involving mixed groups of professionals to enhance empathy within departments.
They also focus on creating empathic systems within healthcare organizations, involving leaders to identify and overcome systemic barriers to empathy.
Edwin Rutsch asks about raising the level of empathy in entire healthcare facilities, and Amber explains their approach of training and implementing empathy-enhancing practices.
They discuss the importance of empathy between professionals, such as doctors and nurses, and the positive impact on patient safety, outcomes, and staff satisfaction.

Active Listening and Empathy Circles

Edwin Rutsch explains the benefits of active listening and empathy circles, which involve mutual active listening and turn-taking to ensure everyone feels heard.
Amber Bennett-Weston agrees that active listening is a crucial component of empathic communication and consultation skills.
They discuss the potential of empathy circles for conflict resolution and improving relationships in various settings.
Edwin shares an example of a practitioner who found empathy circles beneficial in her personal and professional life, highlighting the broader applications of active listening.

Measuring Empathy

Amber Bennett-Weston discusses their work on developing a short, simple scale to measure empathy in healthcare contexts, based on feedback from participants.
They aim to create versions of the scale for patients, practitioners, students, and observers to provide a comprehensive view of empathy.
Edwin Rutsch mentions the challenges of measuring empathy and the limitations of existing academic measures.
They agree on the importance of simple, understandable measures that capture the essence of empathy from multiple perspectives.

Empathy and Health Outcomes

Amber Bennett-Weston highlights the evidence showing that empathy in healthcare leads to better patient outcomes, including lower pain, anxiety, and mortality rates.
They discuss the physiological benefits of empathy, such as reduced stress hormones and increased oxytocin levels.
Edwin Rutsch emphasizes the positive, constructive nature of empathy and its role in creating a compassionate community.
They agree that empathy is often dismissed as a soft skill but is essential for effective healthcare and positive patient experiences.

Future Work and Collaboration

Amber Bennett-Weston outlines their current projects, including developing a new empathy scale, systematic reviews on empathy and patient adherence, and the impact of empathy on burnout and diversity.
Edwin Rutsch suggests potential collaborations, such as conducting empathy circles in healthcare settings and exploring the benefits of active listening in various contexts.
They discuss the potential of empathy circles for medical students and the impact on their empathy levels and well-being.
Edwin invites Amber to speak at future empathy summits and expresses interest in continuing the conversation and collaboration on empathy-related projects.

Zoom Meeting assets for Edwin Rutsch's Personal Meeting Room are ready!

Meeting summary

Quick recap

Edwin and Amber, representing different organizations focused on empathy in healthcare, discussed the challenges and definitions of empathy, particularly in clinical settings. They explored various models of empathy, including affective-cognitive approaches and a holistic model that emphasizes sensing and understanding experiences without dichotomies. The conversation covered practical applications of empathy in healthcare, including workshops to enhance empathy among staff, the importance of active listening and empathy circles, and the development of measurement tools to assess empathy's impact on patient outcomes and professional well-being.

Next steps

Edwin to share the empathy circle facilitation training information with Amber.
Amber to look into human-centered design as mentioned by Edwin.
Amber to share the new empathy measurement scale with Edwin once it's tested.
Edwin and Amber to explore potential collaboration on empathy circles for healthcare settings.
Edwin to invite Amber to speak at future empathy summits.

Summary

Empathy in Healthcare Training

Edwin and Amber discussed their respective roles and the focus of their work. Edwin is the Director of the Center for Building a Culture of Empathy, while Amber is a postdoctoral research associate at the Stony Gate Center for Empathic Healthcare in Leicester, UK. They aim to improve patient outcomes by embedding empathy in healthcare and training for students and professionals.

Empathy Definition and Models Discussed

Edwin and Amber discussed the confusion surrounding the definition of empathy, particularly in clinical or therapeutic contexts. Amber shared findings from a study that reviewed over 3,000 papers, revealing more commonalities than differences among definitions. They explored the affective-cognitive model, with Edwin highlighting its complexities and the need for a clearer understanding to foster empathy as a shared cultural value. Edwin introduced his holistic empathy model, which focuses on sensing and understanding experiences without the affective-cognitive dichotomy, inspired by Carl Rogers' approach to active listening.

Models of Empathy in Healthcare

Edwin discussed his model of empathy, distinguishing between self-empathy, imaginative empathy, and holistic empathy. He explained that self-empathy involves reflecting on one's own experience while listening to others, similar to Carl Rogers' approach. Amber agreed that these concepts overlap with their model of empathy in healthcare, particularly in the areas of maintaining boundaries and the interconnectedness of cognitive and affective aspects of empathy. They also discussed the importance of creating a space for mutual, active listening through empathy circles, where everyone has the opportunity to be heard and understood.

Clinical Empathy in Healthcare Interactions

Amber and Edwin discussed the nature of clinical empathy, emphasizing its relational and two-way interaction between healthcare providers and patients. They highlighted that empathy involves active listening, exploring the patient's experience non-judgmentally, developing a shared understanding, and emotionally engaging with the patient, while maintaining professional boundaries. Amber clarified that empathy does not require the provider to have experienced similar feelings, but rather involves emotional connection and understanding, which often motivates therapeutic action.

Understanding Empathy in Healthcare

Edwin and Amber discussed the concept of empathy, particularly in healthcare settings. They clarified that true empathy involves understanding and acknowledging others' feelings without being overwhelmed by them, and maintaining boundaries through structured turn-taking and active listening. They addressed common misconceptions about empathy leading to burnout, citing research showing that empathic practitioners actually have a reduced risk of burnout. They also touched on recent criticisms of empathy from authors like Paul Bloom, noting that these criticisms often target a different phenomenon that is not true empathy.

Enhancing Empathy in Healthcare

Amber discussed the importance of empathy in healthcare, both between practitioners and patients, and between professionals within organizations. She explained that they have been conducting workshops to enhance empathy among staff in hospital departments, including clinical and non-clinical roles, by identifying systemic barriers and developing actionable plans to improve empathy at the organizational level. The training involves off-site workshops where participants collaborate to identify and commit to implementing changes that promote empathy within their departments over the next year, with follow-up support provided.

Empathy in Healthcare and Design

Edwin and Amber discussed the importance of empathy and active listening in healthcare and beyond. They explored how empathy circles can be used to improve relationships and resolve conflicts, with Edwin sharing examples from his work. Amber agreed that empathy is crucial in healthcare, not just from practitioners to patients but also from patients to practitioners. They discussed the physiological benefits of empathy, such as reduced stress and improved health outcomes. Edwin also introduced the concept of human-centered design, which emphasizes empathy in the design process, and suggested parallels with healthcare.

Empathy in Healthcare: Tools and Impact

Edwin and Amber discussed the importance of empathy in healthcare, focusing on the Cleveland Clinic's approach to designing patient experiences based on empathy. Amber shared her work on developing a new, short-scale empathy measurement tool for healthcare contexts and outlined ongoing research projects exploring empathy's impact on patient adherence, physician burnout, and diversity characteristics. They also discussed the benefits of empathy circles and active listening practices for reducing stress and improving communication among healthcare professionals and students.