Empathy, identity and engagement in person-centred medicine: the sociocultural context

Aims This paper considers in outline the complexity of the empathic process from subjective, philosophical and psychological perspectives, and suggests that compassionate empathy is a core requirement of a person-centred approach to health care delivery. Empathy is facilitated by secure attachments in infancy (intersubjectivity) and a subsequent firm sense of self and personal identity. Empathic understanding is enhanced by the medical humanities, but the neglect of musical appreciation in this regard is surprising. Conclusions The biopsychosocial model is reviewed, and a body-mind-spirit paradigm is proposed as a more optimal framework for health care delivery in a multicultural society.