Rethinking clinical empathy: The relevance of empathy affect in child welfare work in Chile

Abstract

This article proposes re-evaluating traditional views of empathy in child welfare work, advocating for recognizing the role of affect in empathic relationships. Traditionally, clinical empathy has been described as a unidirectional relationship where clinical workers must remain neutral, setting aside their perceptual frameworks to become ‘mirrors’ of their clients. Through a grounded theory analysis of data collected in Chile, this article reveals that child welfare workers establish dynamic empathic connections via ‘Empathy Affect’. The study underscores the importance of affective dimensions in social work practice and policy design.