What is empathy?

This was the first week of a new quarter, so for the first session of the Empathy group, I asked the group members to create an image to represent what empathy meant to them. I had several new members, so this helped me get an idea of their thoughts and feelings about the topic. I had done this directive in the past, and one patient actually drew himself squished inside a boot, to represent putting himself in someone else's shoes. It was telling that he looked uncomfortable and had anxiety lines drawn around him. This quarter, most of the patients drew symbolic images to represent trying to feel or understand what another is feeling and going through.