The Power of Empathy

Understanding Others in an Age of Regression

By Dr. Nicolas Dermota, PhD – Licensed Clinical Psychologist

We live in a time in which humanity seems to be moving backwards. At the highest political levels, the law of the strongest has once again taken hold. Raw brutality and bullying tactics are displacing diplomacy and humanity. Psychopathic behavior and gaslighting have become socially acceptable. At times, one truly gets the impression that we have been pushed back into the darkest of ages.

Carl Rogers and the Power of Being Understood

In such times, it becomes especially important to remember one of the most fundamental insights of psychology: the concept of empathy — the genuine attempt to understand another human being on the deepest possible level. A form of understanding that can release enormous inner and interpersonal potential. No one has articulated this more clearly than the renowned American psychologist Carl Rogers, who wrote:

“When I am listened to and when I am understood, I am able to perceive my world in new ways and move forward. It is astonishing how seemingly insoluble things become manageable when someone truly listens.”

Empathic Listening at the Core of Psychotherapy

With this statement — which applies just as much to our everyday relationships — Rogers describes the core of psychotherapy itself. Within the therapist–client relationship, the highest form of empathic listening is reached. This form of listening helps the client sort through inner confusion and, within the emotional turmoil, rediscover orientation. Orientation that allows painful inner conflicts to be resolved, as well as blockages that hold a person back in everyday life.

Remarkably, this mechanism appears to be largely unknown to many people. In today’s capitalist society, money is readily invested in all kinds of consumer goods that promise short-term pleasure. In contrast, very little is invested in the sustainable improvement of our interpersonal relationships.

Why Investing in Ourselves Matters

When I walk through the area surrounding our practice in Aoyama, I see luxury goods of all kinds finding their owners — expensive cars, branded bags, designer clothing. In the search for happiness, many acquire the most expensive item, only to realize shortly afterward that the feeling of happiness fades almost immediately after purchase. It is not sustainable. It is shallow.

How much more important it would be, therefore, to invest in oneself instead. In the experience and cultivation of empathic connections. For strong, reliable human relationships promise long-term fulfillment. They nourish us deeply, from the very core. And psychotherapy is the royal road that leads there.

For further information on psychotherapy, please follow this link: https://refugiumtokyo.com/mentalhealthservices