This exercise allows you to apply tough empathy. The following statements may evoke strong personal reactions. Assume that the person is speaking to you and that you are responding with empathy, even though empathy may not be the preferred response.

a. "Canada was much better when it was white and Christian. With such high unemployment, don't you think it's time to stop letting every damn immigrant into the country? No wonder I can't get a job."

b. "I'm not ashamed to admit it. Once in a while, I hit my wife. It's no big deal."

c. "I don't care what you say. I won't give up on you until you convert and save your soul."

d. "I want to die. I've thought about it for months, and I just don't want to live anymore."

e. "What's the big deal if I have to steal a bit from Safeway to make sure my kids are fed? It's not like it hurts anyone."

f. (Student to teacher.) "I suppose this course is going to be like all the others. Lots of reading, a bunch of papers. I only hope there's some relevance to it all."

g. (A 35-year-old client.) "I had no idea she was only 15. She was the one who wanted to have sex. From the look in her eyes, I could tell she was begging for it. It's really unfair that I'm now charged with rape. Besides, 15 is old enough for someone to make up their own mind."

h. "This counselling isn't very helpful."

i. "I really don't worry too much about AIDS. What can I do about it? If I'm meant to get it, then I'll get it. So what? We all have to die sometime."

j. "I'm not stupid. I know that he shouldn't hit me. But I guess I deserved it, the way I put him down. I should learn to keep my mouth shut. When I see him, I'll apologize."

k. (Client, with angry tone.) "No one is willing to talk to me about the fact that I might be dying. I can accept it, but every time I ask the big question, people change the topic."

l. "There's no way I'm going to pay for her stupidity. If she didn't want to get pregnant, she should have taken the pill. Now she expects me to support the baby until he's 18. I don't care if I am the father. Not a chance!"

m. "I refused to wear a mask during the so-called COVID-19 pandemic. It was basically fake news. No one is going to tell me what I can and can't do. It's my life!"

n. "You are male, white, and privileged! There's no way you can understand what it has been like for me, an Indigenous woman trying to survive in a male-dominated, white world."

What are the advantages of responding with empathy to the preceding clients?