Empathy means identifying with others’ feelings. It means putting yourself in their shoes, understanding how and why they might be feeling about some situation. Animals are empathic towards the humans in their households.

Cats and dogs get upset and intervene if there is a row with raised voices. They show affection when they sense distress. Empathy requires good listening, a vital quality when dealing with someone in distress.

It enables us to forgive when someone close to us misbehaves, because we need to understand, not judge or condemn. With empathy we not only make allowances, we actually understand what is making the other person behave as they do, we may even see something of ourselves in them. More importantly, the insight that empathy gives us could make us realise we are not to blame for the bad behaviour of others.

And it allows us to offer them support and love when they most need it. This one day course is designed