Empathy is defined as emotional knowing, the temporary experiencing of another's feeling. One partakes of the quality, not quantity, of the feeling, which is preconscious. It is an essential prerequisite for the successful psychotherapist.

There are various pathological states of empathy in the therapist. Both inhibition and loss of control of empathy may occur due to the therapist's own conflicts. Understanding by empathy may become an instinctual temptation which is either a danger to be avoided or a pleasure to be enjoyed. The ideal therapist is both observer and participant. Listening to, and thinking about, the material is insufficient. One has to be in good emotional, nonverbal contact. Part of the self has to become the patient. The therapist does this through the model of the patient that he has built up within himself during the previous sessions. The reactions within this working model will determine the dosage, timing, and tact of the interpretations.