A resposta empática na psicoterapia

: um estudo comparativo entre Portugal e Brasil

Abstract

In clinical practice, the psychologist's empathy is an essential component for adherence to treatment, the effectiveness of interventions, and the establishment of a positive relationship. Although psychotherapist variables are associated with a better health prognosis, few studies are dedicated to exploring the empathic response ability based on psychotherapy performance. Through a sample of 159 participants, the present study intends to explore the differences in the empathic response between Portuguese and Brazilian psychotherapists, considering the variables: gender, years of experience and performance in an empathy task. To this end, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and University of Minho Empathy Vignettes (UMEV) instruments were used, duly translated and adapted for the two groups. Results demonstrated that women reported greater empathy than men, but there were no significant differences between them based on the performance in the empathy task. Regarding years of experience, the more experienced the Portuguese and Brazilian psychotherapists are, the less empathic responses are demonstrated in both instruments. Finally, regarding the two cultures, there was no significance at the level of self¬report, but the Brazilian sample expressed much higher indices regarding the performance of empathy in psychotherapy, compared to the Portuguese sample.

Date of Award	13 Jul 2022
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Patrícia Oliveira-Silva (Supervisor)