Empathy to promote a positive behavior

Since last week I had my group address a time they felt empathy and it prevented a negative behavior; this week, I thought we would explore a time when they felt empathy and it caused them to do a positive or pro-social behavior or act. They were all able to identify a time when empathy helped them do the right thing. A couple of the sex offenders talked about helping the elderly. One was able to discuss how feeling empathy for his elders compared to not having empathy for his victims. This Art Therapy directive helped the patients realize that they are capable of acting appropriately when they feel empathy, and they were encouraged to practice feeling empathy and responding in a positive manner on a regular basis.