Profs & Pints Northern Virginia: Empathy 101

Profs and Pints Northern Virginia presents: “Empathy 101,” a research-based examination of our ability to understand others and how to improve it, with Jamie Keaton Jones, instructor in the Child and Family Social Work Fellowship Program at Walter Reed Military Hospital, adjunct professor at Fordham University, and founder of The Psychotherapy Studio PLLC in Washington D.C.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/nv-empathy-101 .]

In these uncertain and divided times, empathy for others—and for ourselves—might be just what we need to reduce our anxiety and constructively work together. Yet many of us lack much of an understanding of our capacity for understanding and how we can nurture it.

Take a deep dive into the subject of empathy with Dr. Jamie Keaton Jones, a therapist and university instructor who studies empathy and teaches empathetic skills to students.

Drawing on insights from social psychology, neuroscience, and social work, she’ll discuss what exactly empathy is and why it’s necessary for survival. She’ll also dispel common empathy-related myths and review specific ways to practice empathic responses.

She’ll talk about mirror neurons—which fire in both someone taking an action and another observing that action—and the important role they play in empathy. She’ll offer guidance on how to assess one’s own level of empathy, and she’ll discuss “empathy deficit disorder” and what it’s like to be excessively empathetic.

We’ll discuss how we can best show empathy to a friend or family member in crisis and how can we use empathy to connect when we disagree.

Among the questions Dr. Jones will tackle: Can empathy be taught? Can it be captured by Artificial Intelligence? What might the world look like if empathy suddenly ceased to exist?

All Profs and Pints talks seek to make people smarter, but this one might help you become kinder as well. (Door: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)

Image by Canva.