Einat Shuper Engelhard

Empathy is a cognitive and affective construct that involves understanding and feeling someone else's pain and suffering. Empathy is fundamental to effective physical therapy practice, a basis for therapeutic relationships that enhances patient concordance to recovery. Physical therapists working with populations experiencing heightened psychological distress, such as injured servicemembers, may face greater empathetic requirements. Limited research has examined how physical therapists' empathy levels vary across different patient populations. Therefore, this study aimed to map empathy levels among physical therapists treating injured servicemembers and identify personal and professional characteristics associated with those levels. This study employed a cross-sectional, anonymous online survey of 85 physical therapists who were actively treating injured servicemembers. Participants were identified through physical therapy social media forums and dedicated groups, and at a professional conference. Empathy levels were assessed using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), a multidimensional tool measuring four subscales: Perspective Taking, Fantasy, Empathic Concern, and Personal Distress. Personal and professional characteristics were assessed using a sociodemographic questionnaire. Associations between empathy subscales and personal and professional characteristics were analyzed. Physical therapists demonstrated mean Perspective Taking levels of 25.46 ± 1.01, Fantasy levels of 21 ± 1.32, Empathic Concern levels of 26.93 ± 1.02, and Personal Distresslevels of 19.16 ± 1.24. Age approached significance for Empathic Concern (p = .074). Longer clinical experience was significantly associated with higher Empathic Concern (p = .023), and participation in post-degree courses on psychological aspects of physical therapy treatment was significantly associated with lower Personal Distress (p = .003). This study establishes initial empathy benchmarks for physical therapists treating injured servicemembers. Findings indicate the need for enhanced support for younger physical therapists, aged 20-40, and less experienced physical therapists, with 0-5 years of experience, and emphasize the importance of encouraging participation in courses on psychological aspects of physical therapy treatment to mitigate Personal Distress.

Falls among older adults are influenced by both physical and psychological risk factors. This pilot study specifically examined the impact of integrating Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) into a regimen of physical therapy exercises (PTE) for fall prevention. The primary objectives included examining the effect of post-PTE+DMT intervention on heart rate variability (HRV), a psychophysiological marker, and fall risk factors. Additionally, this study aimed to examine correlations between HRV and levels of fall risk. Eight community-dwelling older adults (median = 83 [interquartile ranges: 80.5–85.75]) from a day center for senior citizens were randomly assigned to either a PTE+DMT group or a PTE group. A post intervention battery of HRV, physical and psychological fall risk assessments, was conducted. The results of nonparametric analysis demonstrated the potential impact of the PTE+DMT intervention in improving balance and self-efficacy measures related to falls when compared to participation in PTE alone. No statistically significant differences were observed between the groups in term of HRV and other physical and psychological fall risk factors. The emerging trends in the associations between HRV, fall risk, and balance levels suggest the potential utility of HRV as an objective psychophysiological marker for assessing fall risk levels. Moreover, the results underscore the potential advantages of interventions that integrate both physical and psychological components to mitigate fall risk in older adults, emphasizing the intricate mind–body connection. The ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT05948735, July 7, 2023.

A new body of knowledge, growing out of the clinical and research fields, has been developing in recent years in the area of dance-movement psychotherapy for couples (DMP-C). Formulation of an intervention protocol based on a systematic review of theories and research is crucial to scientifically establishing the field and to implementing research findings in clinical practice. The present article reviews the results of a comprehensive qualitative research study in DMP-C, which addresses the following topics: couple intake, expectations of couples seeking therapy, a projective identification mechanism in the couple relationship, desires and expectations in the sexual relationship, synchrony in the non-verbal relationship, somatic mirroring, and kinaesthetic empathy in the couple relationship. Based on the findings of the research, a systematic intervention protocol for couples psychotherapy through movement and dance has been developed; its unique contribution will be examined alongside other interventions in couples therapy.

Dance-movement psychotherapy for couples (DMP-C) provides the space to mentally process physical experiences in relationships. The objective of the research is to become familiar with how, in the therapeutic process, a combination of, and a transition from, verbal to experiential occurs. Fourteen couples participated in 12 sessions conducted by four therapists. The sessions were documented using video and in diaries. Three themes characterized the therapeutic intervention: (a) when the narrative is perforated – suggesting connections between action, sensation and emotion; (b) when the past is reconstructed in the present – naming of roles and their trans-generational implications manifest in the body; (c) when the conflict intensifies – instructions to look for a psychosomatic resource. The significance of the findings will be examined with respect to expanding the role of the therapist in work with embodied knowledge.

Kinesthetic sensitivity plays a central role in the development of empathy and in understanding others’ intentions, skills that greatly affect spousal satisfaction. The present study examines how, in the couple relationship, somatic mirroring of the other’s physical expressions creates an emotional experience in the relationship, and in couples therapy, sets processes in motion. Such understanding is critical in couples therapy to harness the embodied knowledge needed to address issues in areas where verbal discussion is insufficient. Nine couples (n = 18) participated in 12 couples therapy sessions that incorporated somatic mirroring. The sessions were documented on video and through the personal diaries kept by the therapists and patients. The participants related to four main themes: Somatic mirroring (a) creates comfort and emotional availability, (b) contributes to identifying and labeling feeling, (c) contributes to arousing intimacy and desire, and (d) avoiding somatic mirroring is characteristic of moments of conflict in the relationship. To create a bridge between the research and the clinic, in the Discussion section methods for connecting with embodied knowledge in couples therapy are examined, with the implications of having familiarity with such knowledge on the intimate relationship and the couple’s communication.

(2018). Working with embodiment in supervision: a systemic approach. Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy: Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 128-132.

Disturbances during the pre-verbal period of infancy, or traumatic situations that impact psychic organisation, may produce perforated areas in the psyche, archaic areas that are not represented or that have negligible representation. In this article, I would like to propose a therapeutic technique based on a combination of the principles of psychoanalysis and dance/movement therapy for the treatment of those specific psychic areas. My assumption is that although these areas are without representation – lacking definition or description, if their origins are in the soma, then they possess the beginnings of ‘body figurability’, i.e. rhythm, space and intensity of experience that is intrinsic to the body. The article examines the effect motoric activity has on unlocking the knowledge inherent in the body and the contribution of the ‘somatic mirroring’ technique to representation of the somatic experience in the psyche. This will be demonstrated through a therapy vignette from the clinic.