La empatía en procesos de duelo

Abstract

Grief is a universal experience, but the way each individual experiences and processes it is unique. Bereaved people need to feel understood and supported in their grief, and this is where empathy becomes an essential tool. This social skill allows professionals and loved ones to connect emotionally with the bereaved, validating their feelings and providing a safe space for the expression of emotions. The ability to empathize involves not only understanding another's pain, but also responding appropriately and compassionately. This empathic response can help alleviate emotional distress and facilitate the process of adjustment to loss. In professional contexts, such as social work and psychology, empathy is crucial for building a trusting relationship and for the implementation of effective interventions that address the emotional and psychological needs of the bereaved. The main objective of the research is to determine the importance of empathy in the mourning process, the study is exploratory and descriptive. The desired findings were obtained through a methodology with a purely quantitative approach. For the fulfillment of the quantitative branch, a previously elaborated instrument was used, translated into Spanish and validated in Latin American contexts called Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), this questionnaire was applied to 233 students studying Social Work, from the first to the eighth semester. The results obtained once the information was collected showed that 67.81% of the participants have an average level of knowledge and practice of empathy in cases of grief. Finally, an intervention proposal was made as a Social Project, with a focus from the area of social work, which consists of an operational plan of activities that allows Empowering empathy and professional capacity in students of Social Work so that they can support people facing a grief process