Final answer:
In CBFT, therapists use empathy to deeply understand and reflect clients' feelings, creating a supportive environment for clients to explore and work through their issues.
Step-by-step explanation:
In Cognitive Behavioral Family Therapy (CBFT), therapists utilize empathy to understand and reflect the feelings and thoughts of their clients. Empathy in this context involves the therapist's ability to accurately grasp the internal perspective of the client and to convey this understanding back to the client in a supportive manner. Unlike sympathy, which may imply pity or sorrow, empathy facilitates a deep connection by acknowledging and validating the client's emotional experience without judgment. This connection is crucial in building a therapeutic relationship that encourages clients to explore their cognitive processes and behaviors with openness.
Carl Rogers, a pioneering figure in psychotherapy, emphasized the importance of empathy in client-centered therapy, which shares fundamental principles with CBFT. Rogers outlined that therapists need to express three core features: unconditional positive regard, genuineness, and empathy. By conveying empathy, therapists help clients feel heard and understood, which is vital for the therapeutic alliance and for empowering clients to address and work through their cognitive and behavioral issues.