Importance of Empathy for Social Work Practice: Integrating New Science (Report)

During the last decade of the 20th century, then-President Bill Clinton made a political catch phrase of the term "I feel your pain." As mawkish as this may have sounded to cynics, it resonated with voters. Eight years after Clinton left office, Barack Obama won the presidency in part by calling attention to an "empathy deficit" in government and public service. Identifying with another person's emotions--the phenomenon we call empathy--is the foundation on which all useful public service and, indeed, the social contract itself is predicated. Empathy is particularly important to social work practice. Clients experiencing empathy through treatment have improved outcomes. Empathic social work practitioners are more effective and can balance their roles better. Social work practitioners can and should learn about emerging social-cognitive neuroscience research on empathy and use that information to better serve their client populations. This article focuses on empathy as an asset to practitioners.