Do you know how to apply your empathy brakes?
As therapists, empathy is often one of our greatest assets, allowing us to understand and connect with our clients at a meaningful level. But being constantly tuned in to the painful emotions of others has an impact on own nervous systems and can take a toll on our well-being over time.
To balance things out in our bodies, it’s important to slow this down and reconnect with ourselves throughout the working day. These self-care micro-moments can also help our clients: if we can reset our bodies, we’re more likely to be fully present, resourced and grounded for them.
So we'd like to share our top three empathy brakes, taken from Babette Rothchild’s great book Help the Helper:
- From time to time during a session, sit back and take a micro-moment to notice the back of your chair against your body;
- Take your attention away from the trunk of your body to your peripherals e.g. wiggle your fingers and toes;
- After the end of a session, deliberately change your facial expression to change up your emotions. This tells your brain and body that you're okay.
Take care,
Jude & Sam 🌿
