Emancipate Your Mind: 008: Practicing Empathy for Stronger Relationships with Marriage Therapist Kevin Hales

Feb 14, 2021

Marriage therapist Kevin Hales joins to discuss the importance of empathy in relationships, its distinction from sympathy, and its role in leadership and business. They also explore the challenges of practicing empathy in religious contexts and the significance of recognizing and communicating emotions. The concept of unresolved hurts and the importance of having difficult conversations for resolving issues in relationships are discussed.

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ANECDOTE

Electrolysis Creates Deep Talk

Kevin shares his sister's electrolysis work as a setting that fosters deep conversation.
Her job forced her to practice listening and empathy with many clients.

ANECDOTE

Bishop Conversation About Leaving Faith

Kevin recounts a bishop saying, 'I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree' during their faith exit.
He now prefers saying, 'You think I'm wrong and I know I'm right for me,' to honor differing realities.

ADVICE

Identify Emotions First

Recognize emotions in others and in yourself before trying to empathize.
Check whether you’re feeling with them or hijacking the conversation with your own story.

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Empathy is a key ingredient to building trust between ourselves and our loved ones.

But many of us weren’t taught what empathy is or how to use it.

Luckily, empathy is a skill set that can be learned and practiced to create safe spaces for us to discuss vulnerable topics and ultimately feel more understood and accepted.

Licensed Professional Counselor, Kevin Hales, joins me for a third episode to talk about how increasing our practice of empathy can bring us closer together with the ones we love the most.

Here’s the link for the video Kevin references during the episode:

Empathy vs. Sympathy

And here is the link to the Sara Bareilles song, “You Matter To Me”, we reference from the Waitress. This whole soundtrack was part of the theme music of our family’s deconstruction. She says, “It’s addictive the minute you let yourself think, ‘the things that I say just might matter to someone’.

If you loved this and the past 2 episodes, consider joining us at our “Becoming Soulmates” workshop for more tools, insights, and support in getting the best romantic relationship possible.

BECOMING SOUL MATES WORKSHOP: FEBRUARY 21st

If you’d like some face-to-face support and tangible tools to help you build safer, more loving bonds in your relationships, sign up for the 2-hour “Becoming Soulmates” workshop Kevin and I are hosting on February 21st at 8pm ET/ 5pm PT on Zoom. The cost is $55 and you can sign up at the link here.

So often, we fall in love with a person and believe (or at least hope) that we are soul mates. We fall into the myth that the spark we feel at the beginning means we’ve found the one we’ll connect with forever. We believe that chemistry and time will create that bond.

But the reality is we don’t find that soul connection so much as create it through our actions. Anyone can become soul mates, but it takes some effort and often the unlearning of unhelpful habits and patterns often passed down to us through the generations.

Click the link below if you’d like to know how to build more safety and trust, communicate more clearly, and release old attachment hurts that influence our relationships in the present.

https://emancipatedcoaching.com/becoming-soulmates-workshop/

CONNECT WITH US:

If you’re looking for more support and discussion on the topics you hear in this episode, come join us in the Facebook group.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/370375144009891

Or follow Teri on Instagram @emancipatedmolly ,
Twitter @emancipatedteri ,
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