
10/04/2025
𝐏𝐒𝐘𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐈𝐒𝐓 / 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐓
[𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝐷𝑟. 𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑞 𝑄𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠ℎ𝑖 (𝑃𝑠𝑦𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡) 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑀𝑠. 𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑦𝑎 𝐴ℎ𝑢𝑗𝑎 (𝑀𝑝ℎ𝑖𝑙 𝑝𝑠𝑦𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑦 𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟, 𝑅𝐶𝐼 𝑅𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝐶𝐵𝑇 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑠𝑡) ]
𝐓𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 – 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬 & 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬
𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: 𝐌𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬, 𝐏𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬, 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐬
OBJECTIVE
Equip mental health professionals with effective empathic communication techniques to build rapport and enhance diagnostic accuracy when working with depressed patients.
WHY EMPATHY MATTERS
Patients with depression often feel isolated, worthless, or ashamed. An empathic response not only validates their pain but fosters trust. The 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐱 their emotions immediately, but to 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 for their experience.
CORE PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATING WITH DEPRESSED PATIENTS
𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬.𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐳𝐞.𝐀𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞.𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬.𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲.EMPATHETIC VS. INVALIDATING RESPONSES – CLINICAL EXAMPLES
Case 1: 𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬: “Nothing feels worth it anymore. I feel dead inside.”
𝐀𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝: “Things will get better soon, just hang in there.”
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬: It dismisses the reality of the patient’s distress.
𝐔𝐬𝐞: “𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑢𝑙. 𝐹𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑒𝑥ℎ𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑖𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒—𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟.”
Case 2: 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬: “I’m failing as a mother. I can’t even cook for my kids.”
𝐀𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝: “At least you’re trying. That counts.”
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬: Minimizes her guilt and sounds dismissive.
𝐔𝐬𝐞: “𝑌𝑜𝑢’𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑔𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢’𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠. 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑦. 𝐶𝑎𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚?”
Case 3: 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬: “I wish I wouldn’t wake up some days.”
𝐀𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝: “Don’t say such things. Life is precious.”
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬: Shames the patient and may shut them down.
𝐔𝐬𝐞: “𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡. 𝐼𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑤. 𝐿𝑒𝑡’𝑠 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑘 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡’𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑎𝑦.”
INTERVIEW TECHNIQUES TO BUILD RAPPORT
1. 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧-𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬Encourage detailed emotional narratives.
“𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠?”
“𝐶𝑎𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑘 𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑎 𝑡𝑦𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢?”
2. 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠Repeat key emotions to show understanding.
“𝐼𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑. 𝐼𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡?”
3. 𝐄𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠Help patients identify and name their feelings.
“𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑔𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑡. 𝐷𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝑓𝑖𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢?”
4. 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬Support feelings without endorsing distorted beliefs.
“𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑦 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑛, 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢.”
5. 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞Give space after a difficult disclosure. It allows processing and often leads to deeper sharing.
WHAT TO AVOID
𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐡𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝“Think positive.”Dismisses the patient's current emotions.“Other people have it worse.”Triggers guilt, increases shame.“You’re not trying hard enough.”Feels accusatory, fuels self-hatred.“Just distract yourself.”Oversimplifies a complex condition.
SPECIAL FOCUS: SU***DE ASSESSMENT
𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲: “𝐻𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒?” “𝐻𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑜𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑚𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑑𝑜 𝑖𝑡?”𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: “𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠—𝑖𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠𝑛’𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢’𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑘 𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑎𝑑. 𝐼’𝑚 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑦 𝑠𝑎𝑓𝑒.”𝐀𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞. Use calm curiosity and containment.CASE SNAPSHOT: Atypical Depression in a High-Functioning Patient
𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭: 35-year-old IT professional
𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: “I’m fine at work but shut down at home. I’m avoiding my kids.”
𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞:
“𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑑—𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢’𝑟𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒. 𝐶𝑎𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠?”
𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝: Emotion reflection, open-ended inquiry, non-judgmental stance.
FINAL NOTES FOR THERAPISTS
𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞.𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭’𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞.𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧.𝐁𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞.TRAINING EXERCISE (Optional)
𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: In your next 5 sessions, practice:
Replacing reassurance with reflection.Allowing 5-second silences after painful disclosures.Using “Can you tell me more…” instead of “Why?”Asking explicitly about suicidal ideation once trust is established.𝐆𝐨𝐚𝐥: Build deeper emotional resonance and therapeutic safety.
𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝐷𝑟. 𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑞 𝑄𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠ℎ𝑖 (𝑃𝑠𝑦𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡) 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑀𝑠. 𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑦𝑎 𝐴ℎ𝑢𝑗𝑎 (𝑀𝑝ℎ𝑖𝑙 𝑝𝑠𝑦𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑦 𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟, 𝑅𝐶𝐼 𝑅𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝐶𝐵𝑇 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑠𝑡)
𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑡: 𝑤𝑤𝑤.𝑑𝑟𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑞𝑞𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠ℎ𝑖.𝑐𝑜𝑚
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