One of my favorite approaches is evocative empathy in the counseling setting. Evocative empathy focuses on the counsellor being empathetic and attunedto the client's experiences. Evocative empathy is a complementary tool to use for trauma because the counselor must remain empathetic and focused on helping the client cope with deeply-seeded issues from the past. Some clients may be apprehensive or reluctant to delve into those experiences because those were dark times in their lives. Overall, evocative empathy is an approach that appears to be effective in working with clients that have experienced trauma (Ralston, 2006).

What are your thoughts about evocative empathy?

References:

Kineticstreaming. (2014, August 28). kineticvideo.com - Emotionally focused therapy in action pt 2 14472 [Video file].https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI_6nSSrOUU

Ralston, M.B. (2006).Imaginalconfrontation versus evocative empathy in emotion-focused trauma therapy(Doctoral Dissertation, University of Windsor, Windsor, Canada).

Saathoff, A. (2008, November 11). Family therapy [Video file].http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPW0UZd9gQ4