Describe any three purposes for which additive empathy or interpretation may be used by social workers

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Additive empathic responses go somewhat beyond what clients have expressed and, therefore, require some degree of inference by social workers. Thus, these responses are moderately interpretive-that is, they interpret forces operating to produce feelings, cognitions, reactions, and behavioral patterns. Three purposes of additive empathy are as follows:
(i) Underlying Meanings of Feelings, Thoughts, and Behavior: Used for this purpose, additive empathy or interpretation assists clients in conceptualizing and understanding feelings, thoughts, and behavior. Social workers assist clients in understanding what motivates them to feel, think, and behave as they do; to grasp how their behavior bears on their problems and goals; and to discern themes and patterns in their feelings, thoughts, and behavior.

(ii) Wants and Goals: Another important use of additive empathy is to assist clients to become aware of wants and goals that they imply in their messages but do not fully recognize. When beset by difficulties, people often tend to think in terms of problems and ways to obtain relief from them rather than in terms of growth and change-even though the latter two processes are often implied in the former.

(iii) Hidden Purposes of Behavior: Social workers sometimes employ interpretation to help clients become more fully aware of the basic motivations that underlie their concerns. Other people may misinterpret clients' motives, and clients themselves may have only a limited awareness of them because of the obscuring effect of their problematic behaviors.