Investigating Emotional Contagion in Counselling Practitioners

Abstract

Emotional contagion theory proposes that people have a natural tendency to copy the expressions, behaviours and vocalisations of other people in their everyday interactions and as a consequence, come to feel, if not the same emotion, one that is congruent to that being felt by the person(s) being observed (Hatfield et al., 1994). Previous empirical research has found that emotional contagion holds key relevance for counselling practitioners and their clients. Clients experiencing empathy are reported to experience a feeling of being deeply understood, more prepared to explore their feelings and show an increased satisfaction with therapy. However, potential negative aspects of emotional contagion also exist. Practitioners may feel emotionally overwhelmed by the persistent transfer of clients’ emotions, potentially leading to depersonalisation, detachment, compassion fatigue and/or burnout. The current research investigated how much of the sharing of emotions within the therapeutic relationship can be attributed to emotional contagion in order that practitioners become better resourced to facilitate the processes that lead to empathy and also ameliorate any negative impact through the modulation of emotional contagion and engagement of emotion regulation. A series of five mixed-methods studies were conducted. The applicability of emotion contagion theory in counselling settings was tested and investigated from the perspective of both practitioners and former counselling clients using pre-validated measures and a new 55-item measurement tool, Emotion Contagion in Counselling Scale. Results showed that emotional contagion does occur in this target population. 57% of practitioners’ reporting feeling clients’ emotions physically often. Emotional contagion was reported to enhance the sense of connection and resonance with clients and appears to facilitate relational depth. However, in prioritising attention on the client’s emotional experiencing, and bracketing and suppressing their own emotional response, counsellors somatised. When this somatised emotion remains unprocessed and/or undischarged, practitioners experience significant adverse effects including intrusive thoughts, feeling burdened, unable to settle and occasionally experiencing a residue from their work. Hence, as well as paying careful attention to the impact of aspects of transferred emotion from clients which have been consciously experienced, practitioners need to become vigilant for any residual emotion and endeavour to ensure that it is either processed and/or discharged. It is advocated that practitioners are made aware of the process of emotion contagion and its underlying mechanisms. Practitioners are advised to regularly self-monitor for this emotional residue and proactively use strategies to discharge unprocessed emotion regularly. Initial validation of a new measure, Emotion Contagion in Counselling Scale is reported. With future studies the new measure can be further validated and made available for practitioners for use after sessions and in Supervision.