Empathy Rating Scale

7=Response helps helpee see underlying feelings or thought that were not explicitly expressed.  Goes beyond immediate awareness and adds significant feeling or meaning to helpee statement.

6=Response shows full awareness and understanding of feelings and content that were actually expressed.  Response is interchangeable but wording is more precise and deeper feelings or meanings may be implied or suggested.

5=Response is interchangeable with helpee statement and shows helper understands surface content or feeling accurately.  Attends to and reflects all important feelings and content.

4=Some important clarification/reflections and summarizations are done accurately, but some important feeling, thought, or action is omitted.

3=Response shows partial awareness and understanding of helpee statement.  Important feelings, meanings, or experiences are omitted or distorted, but some minimal aspect of statement is attended to and reflected accurately.

2=Response follows from what helpee says but does not really attend to and reflect accurately.  Any reflections present are distorted and inaccurate.

1=Response is totally distorting and way off base.  Helper is not listening and understanding.