Therapeutic traits and the empathic process: Attachment, shame, fear, fantasy, personal distress, and expression recognition

The current study sought to empirically validate the view that therapists' interpersonal boundaries form the cornerstone of the empathic process (Buechler, 2008; Ehrenberg, 1992), by using latent structural modeling to test the association between Impoverished Interpersonal Boundaries (operationalized as preoccupied attachment) and the Inability to Facilitate the Empathic Process (operationalized as personal distress empathy). In addition, the current study sought to explain the association between Impoverished Interpersonal Boundaries and the Inability to Facilitate the Empathic Process, with reference to Steiner's (2011) concept of Psychic Retreat (operationalized by shame-proneness, fantasy-proneness, and the fear of invalidity). Weaker relationships among the latent variables were expected to be found in the therapist group, compared to a group of non-helping professionals, indicating a capacity to facilitate the empathic process despite one's underlying vulnerabilities. A total of 290 completed protocols (146 from therapists and 144 from non-therapists), including online data derived from self-report instruments and a facial expression recognition task, were utilized. Results indicated that Psychic Retreat mediated the association between Impoverished Interpersonal Boundaries and the Inability to Facilitate the Empathic Process, yet no significant group differences were found. When personal therapy was added as a control variable, analyses also failed to detect significant between group differences. Post-hoc analyses, focusing on group differences with regard to the Inability the Facilitate the Empathic Process, indicated support for an empathic process that is unique to therapists, and comprised of forms of interpersonal reactivity that are not traditionally associated with therapeutic empathy. Implications for future research and training are discussed.