Empathy, Cultural Humility, and Trauma Awareness

Empathy, Cultural Humility, and Trauma Awareness

Empathy is known as the capacity to identify, comprehend, and personally experience another person’s emotions. It entails heartfelt listening, accepting their message, and putting your attention on their experience rather than your own. It entails being aware that the behavior might be related to anything other than the current circumstance. I have shown empathy in several occurrences, one of those being when my best friend lost her dad. I was able to put myself in her shoes. By being empathetic, I was able to connect deeper with her because I could share her emotions and be compassionate. On the other hand, the discipline of cultural humility involves examining the impact that one’s background and the backgrounds of others have on activities like teaching, learning, research, creative endeavors, involvement, leadership, counseling, etc. For example, there was a time when I traveled to China. I learned that when greeting a senior person, one should bow slightly from the shoulders to show respect. Consistently, Trauma awareness is the act of recognizing the symptoms and signs of trauma in persons. This could be family members, friends, or even strangers. Trauma may result from an incident, a string of incidents, or a collection of circumstances that a person perceives as dangerous or life-threatening.

Why are the Skills of Empathy, Cultural Humility, and Trauma Awareness Essential To Human Services Professional Practitioner

The skill of empathy is important to human services professional practitioners because it’s frequently regarded as the foundation of the therapeutic process, and it facilitates the development of rapport and a powerful therapeutic relationship (Bayne et al., 2012). I’ve been in a position where I’ve had to show empathy to my clients. For example, one of my clients had a miscarriage, which led to feelings of depression. Due to my being empathetic, she was able to open up more.

Consistently, cultural humility is important in that it helps a human services practitioner honor and respect the beliefs and culture of his/her clients (What is cultural humility? the basics n.d.). I often get clients with different beliefs and values from mine; in such cases, I have to listen very carefully to know the best way to honor and respect them. Lastly as a human services professional practitioner, it is important to understand each person’s particular life experiences and to be respectful of them. This promotes trust and helps to establish a healing atmosphere. As a Practitioner, I have been able to better assist my clients who have experienced trauma by addressing past trauma.

References

Bayne, H. B., Pusateri, C., & Dean-Nganga, L. S. (2012). The use of empathy in human services: Strategies for diverse professional roles. ODU Digital Commons. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/chs_pubs/28/

What is cultural humility? The basics. Equity and Inclusion. (n.d.). Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://inclusion.uoregon.edu/what-cultural-humility-basics

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Empathy, cultural humility, and trauma awareness all relate to truly seeing and knowing a person—understanding their unique feelings, their culture, and the way trauma may affect their life. This idea of “knowing a person” can be challenging in human services, particularly in a busy case management position where the practitioner may be working with many service users each day in a limited time frame. These skills simply require more practitioners than basic communication and interpersonal skills. They are nonetheless essential to building a meaningful helping relationship.

Empathy, Cultural Humility, and Trauma Awareness

In this Discussion, you explain the importance of empathy, cultural humility, and trauma awareness, using an example from your own life in your reasoning.
Post an explanation of why the skills of empathy, cultural humility, and trauma awareness are essential to human services professional practitioners. Use an example from your personal or professional life to illustrate the skills and their importance.

Reference
Neukrug, E. (2021). Skills and techniques for human service professionals: Counseling environment, helping skills, treatment issues (2nd ed.). Cognella.
Chapter 7: Advanced Skills and Specialized Training (pp. 35–46)
Chapter 9: Culturally Competent Helping (pp. 151–176)
Bayne, H. B., Pusateri, C., & Dean-Nganga, L. (2012). The use of empathy in human services: Strategies for diverse professional rolesLinks to an external site.. Journal of Human Services, 32(1), 72–88
TEDx Talks. (2017, December 1). Juliana Mosley: Cultural humilityLinks to an external site. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ww_ml21L7Ns
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 17 minutes.