Exploring Kinesthethic Empathy in the Medical Setting: A Heuristic Inquiry

The purpose of this heuristic inquiry was to understand how I used kinesthetic empathy while working with children hospitalized on the general pediatric unit and pediatric intensive care unit. I was also interested in exploring whether aspects of kinesthetic empathy might be useful for child life specialists in relationship building. Data were collected using journal entries that depicted my use of kinesthetic empathy after 15 individual dance/movement therapy sessions. The data were analyzed using Forinash’s qualitative data analysis approach. The findings demonstrated that I engaged in kinesthetic empathy by being present, self-referencing, embodying, and using touch. The findings were shared with child life specialists of a similar population to determine if any aspects of kinesthetic empathy were applicable to their work. The child life specialists resonated with the themes of embodying and sensations. This research informed my understanding of my own ways of practicing kinesthetic empathy as an emerging dance/movement therapist in the medical setting. Exploring the use of kinesthetic empathy in the child life profession elicited further inquiry into the collaborative work of creative arts therapists and child life specialists. 64 pages