Fall 2026 SOWK 486w Week 12 - Additive Empathetic Responding

A presentation at Heritage University in November 2026 by Jacob Campbell and is tagged with Heritage University, BASW Program, SOWK 486w

A title slide with the heading 'Additive Empathetic Responding' in bold black text on a large yellow-orange rounded bar that bleeds off the left edge, against a plain white background. Below it, smaller text reads 'Jacob Campbell, Ph.D. LICSW at Heritage University' and 'Fall 2026 Week 12 SOWK 486w.'

A white presentation slide with black sans-serif text presents the week's plan. The left column lists an Agenda with three bullets: 'Week 12 expectations,' 'Additive empathy and interpretation,' and 'Reactance theory.' Below it, under 'Learning Objectives,' one bullet reads 'Identify and apply the components of additive empathy and interpretive responses in client interactions.' A large bold title, 'Plan for Week 12,' sits in the lower right corner.

A slide titled 'Week 12 Activities: What You Should Be Doing This Week' lays out two columns on a white background. The left column reads 'Read and do a quiz for chapter 17 and 18' and 'Submit A-04a: Interviewing Skills Video Role-Play by Monday, 11/16 at 8 am.' The right column, headed 'Three Replies Across Any of the Forums,' lists five forum topics as bullets.

A presentation slide titled 'Types of Empathy: Fundamental Expressions' has two rows, each with a yellow-orange label box on the left and a text description on the right. The top box, 'Emotional Empathy,' is paired with 'expressed feeling and an understanding that infers or reflects clients' emotions.' The bottom box, 'Cognitive Empathy,' is paired with 'is the translation of such feelings into words.' The citation '(Hepworth et al., 2023)' sits in the lower-right corner against a plain white background.

A slide titled 'Components of Empathy: Three Parts of Empathetic Responding' shows a pink 'Empathy' box in the center with three black speech-bubble callouts pointing to it: 'Self-Awareness' (top), 'Affective Sharing' (left), and 'Mental Flexibility' (right). Each has a definition beside it: 'We recognize ourselves as different and similar to the client,' 'Person sharing something to respond to,' and 'Skills in both turning on receptivity and turning it off.' Citation at bottom right: (Hepworth et al., 2017).

A black-silhouette figure on a left platform reaches an arc toward a second figure on a right platform, with a red arc overshooting past it to a 'Too Far' label. Five black rounded tiles sit between them, labeled 'Simple Reflection' and 'What the client knows about themselves.' The right platform reads 'Additive Empathic Responses & Interpretation.' Top right: 'Going Beyond What the Client Has Expressed,' with the note 'Interpretation is intended to help clients view their problems from a different perspective...' Citation: (Hepworth et al., 2023).

A presentation slide titled 'Pitfalls of Additive Empathy' (Hepworth et al., 2023), subtitled 'Moderate Interpretations vs. Deep Interpretations,' lists two columns of white bullets: 'Working relationship has evolved,' 'Engaged and ready for self-exploration,' 'Pitch these responses to the edge of clients' self-awareness,' 'Avoid making several additive empathic responses in succession,' 'Phrase interpretive responses in tentative terms,' 'Note clients' reactions after offering the interpretation,' 'Acknowledge your probable error & respond empathically,' and 'Culturally differences.' The dark green background ends in a pixel-art jungle scene from a retro video game, with trees, a pit, and a pond.

A pink rounded box on a white slide, beside the bullet 'Deeper feelings,' lists uses of additive empathy: 'Identify feelings implied or hinted at in clients' verbal messages,' 'To identify feelings that underlie surface emotions,' 'To clarify the nature of feelings clients express only vaguely,' 'To identify feelings manifested only nonverbally,' and 'Challenging beliefs stated as facts.' The slide title reads 'Ways of Using Additive Empathy / What Context Do we Use it,' with the citation '(Hepworth et al., 2023)' in the lower right.

A white presentation slide with the bold black title 'Ways of Using Additive Empathy' and subtitle 'What Context Do we Use it.' Six bullets list: 'Deeper feelings,' 'Underlying meanings of feelings, thoughts, and behavior,' 'Wants and goals,' 'Hidden purposes of behavior,' 'Challenge beliefs stated as facts,' and 'Unrealized strengths and potentialities.' A small gray citation, '(Hepworth et al., 2023),' sits in the bottom-right corner.

Object: a flow diagram titled 'Reactance Theory,' with the subtitle 'The Larger the Loss, the Larger the Reaction.' Two blue inputs, 'Importance of freedom' and 'Magnitude of threat to freedom,' feed a red 'Reactance' box via an orange arrow, which outputs to green boxes 'Mental Effects: Perceptual or judgmental changes' and 'Behavioral Effects: Opposition, aggression, etc.' Citation: (Brehm, 1972), on a white slide.

Dr. Jacob Campbell

10 slides

Description

Week twelve we look to develop strategies for how to impact change with our clients. It is an asynchronous week, with no in-person class because of Veterans Day. Students will read Chapters 17 and 18 from Hepworth et al. (2023) to explore key strategies for helping clients change, including additive empathy, interpretation, and confrontation, along with the barriers that make change hard for clients and how we might limit those barriers in our practice. In the forums, students will discuss the chapters, practice surface and additive empathetic responses, try a four-part model for assertive confrontation, reflect on their own experiences of making change, and consider what facilitates recovery. Students will also submit their Interviewing Skills Role-Play, due on Monday morning. There is also a lecture video that discusses additive empathetic responding. The agenda for that is as follows:

Week 12 expectations
Additive empathy and interpretation
Reactance theory

Learning Objectives for the Week

Define and differentiate surface empathy, additive empathy, and interpretation in the context of direct social work practice.
Identify and apply the components of additive empathy and interpretive responses in client interactions.
Practice assertive confrontation using a structured four-part model.
Identify and analyze common barriers that interfere with the client change process.
Reflect on personal experiences of making change to build insight into client challenges.
Analyze the principles of the SAMHSA Recovery Model.

Fall 2026 SOWK 486w Week 12 - Additive Empathetic Responding

Dr. Jacob Campbell

Description

Video