Empathy is the ability to identify with the emotional experiences of others. The
ideas and functions of empathy are often associated with evidence of negative
states, e.g. suffering or grief, in the other person. In palliative care today, health
professionals tend to recognise not only physical threats but also emotional and
psychological dangers. The response is to offer support through empathy so that the
other person can achieve emotional stability. Empathy makes this support possible
through the ability to ‘step into the shoes’ of the other person. However, Henry
David Thoreau captured the essence of empathy when he said ‘Could a greater
miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?’ The
inference of this might be that we can at best only imagine, and not truly experience,
how the other person might be feeling