Pyle, Denise (2017) A Conversation Analysis of Empathy in Motivational Interviewing. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
The aim of this exploratory case study was to explicate and contrast the interactional accomplishment of empathy in two real-life therapy sessions. The therapy sessions were facilitated by an exemplary therapist conducting motivational interviewing (MI) and a provisional psychologist conducting client-centred counselling to explore (a) how empathy was expressed in MI and (b) how therapist experience was related to expressing empathy. Extracts of a video and an audio recording of the therapy sessions were transcribed using Jeffersonian transcription conventions and Hepburn’s transcription conventions of crying. Using conversation analysis, the research revealed that empathy was interactionally accomplished in a sequence comprising an elicitation of empathy, an accurate empathic expression, and a receipt of empathy. Importantly, unless the therapists' empathic expression was accurate the expression was not received as empathy by the client. The therapists developed an accurate empathic understanding of the clients’ experience when they withheld overt expressions of empathy and facilitated the clients’ troubles-telling until an adequate understanding had been obtained. In the inexperienced therapy session, a premature empathic expression functioned to interrupt the client’s troubles-telling and culminated in the client’s recurrent expression. Premature empathic expressions may therefore prolong the duration of therapy by stalling progress towards achieving some therapeutic goals. This may have important implications for time-constrained, brief therapies such as MI. Given empathy is a central component in the professional training of counsellors and psychotherapists, it is hoped that a clearer understanding of how empathy is interactionally accomplished in therapy may improve future training practices and therapeutic outcomes.
|
Statistics for this ePrint Item |
| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Steve Christensen |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 20 Aug 2025 03:25 |
| Last Modified: | 20 Aug 2025 03:25 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | empathy, motivational interviewing, conversation analysis |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52680 |
Actions (login required)
 |
Archive Repository Staff Only |
