Empathic engagement in caregiving professions : in light of Heinz Kohut´s self psychology

Abstract

This thesis explores and illustrates ways in which a conceptual framework based on Heinz Kohut’s self psychology, complemented by Kristin D. Neff’s conceptualization of selfcompassion, can help illuminate how six professional caregivers from different disciplines relate to themselves as they are faced with the call for empathic engagement in their practices. The study is qualitative insofar as the goal of the investigation is describing, discovering and understanding, rather than predicting and confirming. However, in the collection of data this thesis combines the use of a qualitative method, conducting semi-structured interviews, with a quantitative self-report scale. Whereas empathic caregiving has been the topic of several studies, this thesis found that this specific conceptual framework helps us discover additional dynamics and connections that are relevant for understanding some of the special challenges inherent in empathic caregiving.