Empathy appears often in the public discourse, acquiring a wide range of meanings to the point of risking diluting it. For example, commentators have suggested that some of the most urgent societal problems would be resolved if only people were more empathic. Instead of a rather loose use of the concept of empathy, this symposium proposes that properly delineated, empathy is central to the practice of psychiatry and mental health care. Hence, this session will seek to clarify the concepts of empathy and related terms such as compassion and sympathy. It will then cover the role of empathy in descriptive psychopathology and clinical assessments, its social neuroscience, and to illustrate its critical role in clinical practice, will explore the care of people at risk of suicide.
This is an area where research and training are required across areas of psychiatric practice (e.g. personality difficulties, substance misuse, etc), across the lifespan (neurodiversity, older adults, children), across different professions (e.g. nursing, social work, occupational therapy), and across mental health organizations (e.g. community teams, inpatient wards, Trusts). Finally, it is worth noting that in other areas of healthcare, such as general practice, lower empathy can intensify health inequality. For example, patients in deprived areas perceive lower empathy from their GP, due to clinicians having less time to see them. This symposium seeks to encourage work in all these areas of mental health care.
Learning objectives
In this webinar you will:
• gain un understanding of the concepts of empathy and cognate terms such as compassion and sympathy
• explore the role of empathy in descriptive psychopathology and clinical assessments
• learn about the social neuroscience of empathy
• explore the critical role on empathy in the real-world care of people at risk of suicide.
Speakers
Chair: Dr Alvaro Barrera, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and University of Oxford, Oxford
Professor Femi Oyebode, Institute of Mental Health, university of Birmingham, Birmingham
Dr Karen Lascelles, Oxford School of Nursing and Midwifery, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford
Funding
RCPsych International Congress is financially supported by the purchase of exhibition stand packages. A full list of confirmed exhibitors can be found here: Exhibiting Organisations at International Congress 2026
Availability
This webinar is part of the Congress webinar 2026 package. If you attended all four days of Congress, you will have access to these as part of your Congress package. Otherwise the Congress webinar 2026 package can be purchased below.
