Empathy and Emotional Intelligence among Eastern and Western Counsellor Trainees: A Preliminary Study

This study explored degree of empathy and emotional intelligence among Thai (n = 48) and American (n = 53) counsellor trainees to determine if differences in Eastern and Western cultural orientations (e.g., interdependent versus independent self-construals) affect foundational counselling skills. Results indicated that Western trainees showed greater empathy, although no differences were found in emotional intelligence between Eastern and...