Therapist Empathy and the Therapist’s Feelings

This article seeks to clarify and distinguish how phenomenological definitions of empathy may be applied in psychotherapy. It argues that effective therapeutic practice relies not only on narrative engagement but also on embodied attunement, often referred to as empathic resonance. Rather than viewing the therapist's feelings as passive emotional mirroring of the client, the authors propose a critical and situated perspective in which these feelings are understood as embodied responses that emerge within the therapeutic relationship. In doing so, the authors aim to contribute to the enhancement of clinical training in psychotherapy. They specifically advocate for a stepwise approach to training, in which narrative tracking and bodily self-awareness are developed and cultivated as separate skills in the early phases of psychotherapy training. The progressive integration of these skills eventually enables therapists to use their feelings as instruments of empathy rather than sources of interference. Thus, empathic therapists do not limit themselves to a purely cognitive, intellectual understanding of a client's story. Instead, they cultivate a comprehensive form of empathy, allowing themselves to resonate with the client's experience at a bodily, prereflexive level.