Cross-Cultural Differences in Empathy, Listening Styles, Mindfulness, and Intersubjectivity in American and Polish Counseling Discourses

• In Event: Diverse Perspectives on the Training and Development of Counseling Students

Abstract

Empathy and mindfulness, that require attentive attitude towards the speakers, plus de-automated listening skills and collaborative discourses of American and Polish counsellors-in-training are analyzed (mixed-methods) for developmental-patterns and cross-cultural comparisons. US-counsellors outrank the Polish counterparts in affective and cognitive empathy, suggesting greater metacognitive awareness, while Polish-counsellors show greater focus on People and Content during listening – reflective of aural mindfulness. Developmental and cross-cultural patterns reveal ‘differently mindful’ and empathizing discourses by American and Polish counseling-students. While the American discourse features mostly implicit stance, attenuated and sentiment-rich counseling-moves, the Polish discourse - epistemically/evidence-rich and intersubjectively/‘socially-lubricated’ reasoning. Cross-cultural differences reflect different conceptualizations of client needs. Implications are offered for active-listening modification and multi-dimensionality of empathic-awareness/expressions - to enhance mindfulness in counseling-techniques, pedagogy, therapy-sessions.

Authors

• Beata M Latawiec, Wichita State University

• Jody Fiorini

• Malgorzata Sekulowicz