Empathy Improves Outcomes

Fidelity in Action

Control feels efficient. Empathy feels soft and time consuming. What we know through Motivational Interviewing is that it’s quite the opposite. When you objectively assess any situation where control was used for efficiency, you can unpack the chaos and discord that occurs. When you watch the expression of high accurate empathy, even in the direst of situations, you start to see all the pathways towards peaceful resolution. 

Empathy takes time. Listening feels unproductive. Direct compliance is seen as the way to resolve an issue. These statements are typically broadly agreed upon across different first responder populations. But when you place yourself in the opposite role, the one receiving the advice or being given the command, you can feel that compliance only generates resistance. Resistance leads to more of a fight, taking up more time, and battling in a power struggle. In physics, resistance exists between two opposing forces. The same is true in communication. That means that both individuals play a part in it.

This is where empathy comes in. Where resistance prolongs time on the scene, empathy reduces it. When there’s no force to push between, an individual is able to explore their own thoughts, feelings, and solutions around a given task. Reducing a perceived threat allows the brain better ability to access executive functioning, where problem solving and rational thinking occurs. The lowering of the body’s threat response allows for individuals who are wanting help to explore a path to getting that help instead of fighting with the first responder or provider trying to assist them. When resistance dissipates, ambivalence exists and clarity is just around the corner. Empathy is the antidote to resistance. 

Stay tuned for more information on the upcoming release of IFIOC’s First Responder Tool Kit

–Aly Gibson, Director of Operations

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