Art of Empathy

Jodi Halpern is a Chancellor’s Chair and Professor of Bioethics and Medical Humanities, in the Joint Medical Program and the School of Public Health at UC Berkeley. Her foundational research on clinical empathy was pivotal in making medical care more patient-centered and inspired a wave of research on patient-doctor relationships. In her first book, From Detached Concern to Empathy: Humanizing Medical Practice was called a “seminal work” by the Journal of the American Medical Association. She also studies the role of empathic communication in the wake of conflict and trauma, ranging from social reconciliation in Rwanda and the countries of the former Yugoslavia to helping wounded soldiers returning from war reintegrate into civilian societies. Furthermore, Jodi became fascinated with how difficult it can be for stoic individuals who provide empathy for others to internalize empathy, which led her to ten years of interviews and the book Remaking the Self in the Wake of Illness, which will be available Winter 2021. Halpern has presented her work on leadership and empathy internationally, including at the World Economic Forum. Her research has been published in numerous journals and media outlets (NBC, NY Times, NPR, etc.).