Those psychologists who have adopted a manualized, technological, or “managed care” approach to their science have tried to downplay empathy as a key element in psychotherapy. Empathy is relegated to a useful background characteristic for building the therapeutic relationship, but it is often not understood as a vital therapeutic ingredient in its own right. Many clinicians do not seem to realize that the subject of empathy has generated novel perspectives and a healthy current research base.
The coeditors of Empathy Reconsidered: New Directions in Psychotherapy have chosen to buck this trend, bringing together a group of respected writers from a variety of perspectives who are making active contributions to the development of our understanding of what empathy is and how it operates in the therapy context.
