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Love, Empathy and Altruism, and Their Clinical Implications

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Positive Psychology in the Clinical Domains

Abstract

The focus of this chapter is on positive interpersonal relationships, from couple to parenting, to therapeutic alliance and finally to altruism. The final message is that from significant dual relationships (such as marriage and parenting) to larger social interactions, it seems that human beings are capable of bonding together and helping each other. More interestingly, these capacities are deeply embedded in our brain, where specific circuits make us able to feel empathy and sympathy for other human beings. Psychotherapy and healing settings could be considered ideal places to observe and promote these phenomena. The majority of clinical problems are in fact concerned with impairments in social functioning. Psychologists, social workers, and practitioners could help their clients to develop empathy, compassion, and altruism. This would improve their patients’ social functioning and, in turn, this may trigger a process of maturation and growth, connected to resilience and to a better recovery from their disorders. Importantly, these benefits could be extended to therapists and clinicians as well, throughout the process of vicarious resilience and vicarious growth.

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,

while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”

Lao Tzu

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  1. Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Chiara Ruini

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Ruini, C. (2017). Love, Empathy and Altruism, and Their Clinical Implications. In: Positive Psychology in the Clinical Domains. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52112-1_7

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