Empathy and Alfred Adler: An Integral Perspective

Empathy and empathic understanding are prominent in the theoretical orientation of Alfred Adler. He recognized the common occurrence of empathy in the lives of people and the critical role of the process in counseling and psychotherapy. From a contemporary perspective, an integral model of empathy encompasses three ways of knowing: subjective, interpersonal, and objective. In each modality, Adler's empathic sensibility is possible to discern through a range of written accounts pertaining to his work. Subjective and interpersonal empathy involve experiential functions, and the objective mode relates to theoretically-informed perspectives. The article helps clarify Adler's theoretical conceptualizations and therapeutic practices in the context of an integral model of empathy.