Therapists believe that by using these methods the client’s condition will improve as the therapist demonstrates warmth, understanding, and projects genuineness. Without been judgmental, interrupting, and offering acknowledgement the therapist will support and encourage the process of self-discovery.
In chapter eight of the in class textbook, Techniques and Guidelines for Social Work Practice (10th Edition) we first learned about the three core conditions. They are defined as followed:
• Empathy is to perceive the client’s inner experiences of thought and feelings (pg 114).
• Non- possessive warmth exists when the social worker responds to clients in ways that help them feel safe and accepted (pg 115).
• Genuineness refers to a professional who is real and speaks from the heart.
The core conditions are mainly known as empathy, congruence, and unconditional positive regard but in some instances they might be used as empathy, genuineness, and non-possessive warmth. Social workers and therapists use the three core psychotherapeutic conditions to demonstrate that the client is in a non-judgmental environment, where he or she is accepted and valued as a human being. These core conditions give the client a sense of safety which allows them to open up to make changes and personally …show more content…
He describes sympathy as an agreement or validation of how someone feels. He states that from a professional standpoint this can lead to a desire to want to fix people, not empowering the client, or even ethical issues such as dual relationships. Empathy is explained as something that can begin to help the client gain understanding; that empowers them to change. Clark also discusses the types of empathy that exist: subjective, interpersonal, and objective. Interpersonal empathy is where the counselor tries to understand the experiences of the client. It is the most common form of empathy used. When the counselor has had a similar experience and he or she is able to identify with the client it is called subjective empathy. Objective empathy comes when the client provides sources, assessments, or other observable data that can help the counselor empathize better. He gives two examples of what sympathy and empathy might look