When the Client/Patient Feels All Alone

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<div&gt;In Chapter Two, personal stories are shared by people who experienced or&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;witnessed a lack of empathy. These stories are not intended to place blame on helpers.</div&gt;<div&gt;The goal is to assist practitioners with a better understanding of what it feels like to be&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;treated with a lack of care in order to ultimately inform practice. We learn that&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;communication is a two-way process and health practitioners can improve their&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;capacity for empathy by becoming better listeners and more self-aware. Four specific&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;narrative case studies are examined closely, followed by the identification of key&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;themes and questions for discussion. The first is a story of what it feels like to be afraid&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;to speak up. In the second situation, a patient receives bad news but has no one to turn&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;to for comfort. The third involves a Coroner's investigation that explores what&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;happened before someone ended their life. The last narrative tells a story of a patient&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;who is treated with a lack of respect. In the Case in Point, a nurse recounts what it felt&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;like to be a patient who was treated with indifference. At the end of the Chapter,</div&gt;<div&gt;reflective journaling is encouraged to increase self-awareness as a means to improve&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;our capacity to act with empathy.</div&gt;