Compassion: Importance and Implications for the Profession of Occupational Therapy

Abstract

The quote “Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle” has been attributed to various sources, including Ian McClaren, Plato, Philo of Alexandria, and John Watson (Quoteresearch, 2010). Although the author is debated, this quote, and similar expressions, have become part of the common vernacular in our culture and are seen often in memes posted on social media. At the core of these expressions is the concept of compassion. But what is compassion, and how is it manifested in the profession of occupational therapy? Various terms, such as empathy and sympathy, are used, sometimes interchangeably, in relation to compassion, but there are differences in their meaning and ultimately in the resulting actions related to each of these concepts. Empathy is the ability to live vicariously in the emotions, thoughts, and experiences of another person. The term empathy originated from the German word Einfuhlung, which means “feeling in.” Empathy is different from sympathy. Sympathy is comprehending the feelings of another, but maintaining an emotional distance that is seen as superior to the other. In a short YouTube animation on empathy, Brené Brown illustrates sympathy as seeing someone in a deep hole, but staying on higher ground and talking above them (Brown, 2016). Whereas empathy is like climbing into the hole, sitting beside the person, making yourself vulnerable to sincerely connect with them, and recognizing their struggle without minimizing it. Empathy can be further broken down into three types: emotional (affective) empathy, cognitive empathy, and compassion. There is evidence of varied neurological correlates that support this conceptualization and each of these types lead to different behaviors (Klimecki et al., 2014; Stevens & Taber, 2021).