These discussion boards have been useful for understanding how other people approach topics in psychology and the reasons why others are interested in studying this subject. The definition of empathy is being able to put yourself in another person’s shoes, and feel or think how they feel or think (Thomas and Hersen, 2009). In this case, the discussion posts are interesting because they give a direct insight into how different we all are when it comes to our reasoning and interests. Personally, I am interested in the subject of psychology mainly from the forensic perspective, but other people are interested in development or more general topics. The way that we respond to each other allows me to empathize with others about their choices and why psychology is important in a lot of different careers.

There are ways in which these discussion boards help us to express empathy with each other. As noted above, they are used on a personal level to approach a topic from a perspective that suits our own personal interests and experiences within the subject. This can help us to get into everyone else’s head, and really see how they think. Additionally, we have to read and respond to everyone’s posts. Again, this is an important tool for developing and expressing empathy. When responding, people are usually polite and kind: pointing out the aspects of another person’s post that they liked and asking them questions about themselves and their views. If there are criticisms or questions about the response, these are phrased nicely, which suggests that we are able to express empathy for each other and understand that some topics might be a little more complex than others. The discussion boards are a great learning tool and great for developing and using our empathy muscles.

It is important for psychology professionals to develop a sense of empathy because we are likely to use this qualification to help and understand a wide variety of people. We are not all from the same culture, and having a sense of empathy about how other people live and experience the world can help make them feel at ease and help us as professionals. Lifestyle differences are also important: a client may not act in a way that we agree with, but this is not important when working with them. It is important to be able to empathize with them, not judge them, and ensure that they feel they are in a safe place (Pope-Davis, 2003). Diversity is another area where empathy is important: people are of diverse backgrounds and belief systems and being able to see the world from their perspective is not only good for the client but also for our own personal development.

My strategy to achieve empathy and understanding of others is to read as much as I can about cultural competence in psychology. Cultural competence is something that interests me as I work with probationers already, and they come from a variety of different cultures (Pope-Davis, 2003). I believe it is important to try to see where someone has come from: they might disagree with you on something but it does not mean that they are wrong, just that they are coming from a different direction. I also want to continue to talking to people on here, in real life, and in my work to help develop a sense of empathy. I think collecting stories from people in my life could be a great way of doing this. A final step in my strategy is to engage with other people as often as possible, through reading and replying to posts in a respectful manner.