Empathy as part of the perception process in osteopathy
Item
- Title
- Empathy as part of the perception process in osteopathy
- Author(s)
- Felder Reinhard
- Abstract
-
Study Design
study of literature
Outline/Problem Definition
Palpation is granted an overwhelming staturs in perception of patients. Whereas great importance is also attached to gaining insight into the content of consciousness through the five senses, the aspect of empathy often remains unconsidered.
Research Question & Objective
Empathy is classified as a diagnostic ability of perception in psychotherapy and serves the purpose of diagnosis in connection with sensory perception. The researchquestion in this paper looks at whether empathy can also be viewed as part of the perception process in osteopathy.
Hypothesis
no hypothesis
Relevance for the Patients
Insights gained through empathy broaden the spectrum of information about patients. The patient is viewed as a complete person. This way the patient can arrive at a deeper understanding for her or his healing process. Her or his awareness of the behavioural patterns which underlie the ailment are therefore heightend.
Relevance for Osteopathy
Statements made by renowned osteopaths emphasise that targeted use of empathy makes it possible to increasingly perceive the contents of consciousness of a patient an thus integrate that which is gained into treatment.
Methodology
literatur research
Results
The analysis of the statements from the research used for this paper shows that empathy is an everyday phenomenon and for this reason, also appears to be valid for osteopathy. The question of whether deficits in empathic ability can be made up for later in life through training and schooling is answered with differing opinions in research on empathy. The ability to empathise serves the purpose of being able to experience other people and oneself in a social context and has a neuroanatomical basis according to the current status of research. Each encounter automatically effectuates the desire to understand other people with respect to their intentions, moods, attetudes and undertakings. For this reason it must be assumed that this process also automatically takes place in osteopathic interaction. The research conducted leads to the conclusion that empathy represents a key part of the perception process in empathy which entails in many cases emotional, mental and spiritual process at work in feeling into the contents of consciousness.
Critical Reflection/Perspectives/Conclusions
Originally, this work was meant to contain interviews of osteopaths within the scope of qualitative social research. While researching literature, it has become apparent that what is first needed is a basis in the form of a foundation on empathy in osteopathy. By virtue of the relevance which empathy is awarded, for example in psychotherapy, it appears to be important to increasingly establish this concept in osteopathic nomenclature. For this purpose, additional research is necessary whereby the analyses in this paper offer approaches for drafting a questionnaire tor interviews on this topic. A further aspect which arises as a result of this paper is training in empathic competence for osteopaths. One suggestion to that effect could be to address empathy during osteopath schooling in particular, to create an awareness for this phenomenon. Self-awareness, self-discovery and self-reflection are recommended by different authors whose research focuses on empathy for developing of a mature personality and should thus also be relevant for osteopaths.
Additional Information
- presented at
- Wiener Schule für Osteopathie
- Date Accepted
- 2006
- Date Submitted
- 1.12.2007 00:00:00
- Type
- osteo_thesis
- Language
- English
- Submitted by:
- 62
- Pub-Identifier
- 13493
- Inst-Identifier
- 781
- Keywords
- Empathy
- Recommended
- 1
- Medium
- FelderReinhard.pdf
- Item sets
- Thesis
- Media
- FelderReinhard.pdf
Felder Reinhard, “Empathy as part of the perception process in osteopathy”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed May 12, 2024, https://www.osteopathicresearch.org/s/orw/item/2905