The Compassionate Connection: The Healing Power of Empathy and Mindful Listening

by David Rakel

Overview

“This book explains not only the healing power of compassionate human connection, but in the most accessible and practical ways, how to cultivate our capacity to create that connection and thereby empower others to find their best selves.”—John Makransky, author of Awakening through Love

All of us have an innate capacity for compassion. We recognize when others are hurting, and we want to help, but we’re not always good at it. There is another way. In The Compassionate Connection, Dr. David Rakel explains how we can strengthen our bonds with others—all the while doing emotional and physical good for ourselves.

As founder and director of the University of Wisconsin Integrative Medicine program, Dr. Rakel discovered that we become the most effective helpers when we use the tool of human connection. Drawing on his own research and practice, as well as thirty years of published studies in medicine, sociology, psychology, meditation, and neuroscience, Dr. Rakel "stacks the deck" in favor of healing and introduces the concept of bio-psycho-spiritual authentic awareness. Not only are our bodies and minds connected, but also it has been scientifically proven that our capacity to feel beauty, awe, and compassion enhances our health and wellbeing.

In The Compassionate Connection, Dr. Rakel provides an innovative approach to enhancing health in others and strengthening relationships through the art of connecting. These tools guide us to improve our connections—whether between doctor and patient, husband and wife, parent and child, or boss and employee—and live with clarity, wisdom, and good health.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393247749
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	04/17/2018
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Dr. David Rakel was founder and director of the University of Wisconsin Integrative Medicine program. He is now professor and chair of the Department of Family & Community Medicine at the University of New Mexico. He lives in Albuquerque.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

Part 1 Our Healing Power

1 Compassion Hastens Healing 3

2 The Mind and the Body-Connected 31

3 The Biology of Connection 53

4 Make Health Primary 81

5 Good Intentions Gone Bad 101

Part II Make the Connection

6 Identify and Free Yourself of Your Biases 121

7 Be Present, on Purpose, without Judgment 143

8 Physically Communicate Good Intentions 165

9 Seek Another Person's Authentic Story 187

10 Move from Burnout toward Beauty 217

Appendixes 241

Acknowledgments 249

Notes 251

Index 269

Editorial Reviews

"Graceful.… Dr. Rakel draws on his experience as a clinician as well as cutting-edge research findings to illustrate the central role of compassion in health and healing. He writes convincingly that everyone—not only doctors—can learn to develop compassionate connection with others and by doing so improve the well-being of all."

Andrew Weil

"David Rakel has written a tremendously moving and intelligent book on a subject that we deal with every day but whose power we often ignore—the power of empathy."

Terri Apter

"In The Compassionate Connection, family physician David Rakel articulates a much-needed vision of human health.… In a deeply personal and accessible book that has a broad reach beyond medicine, Rakel draws on his rich clinical experiences and the latest neuroscience research, showing how human connection is a primary force of healing."

Ronald Epstein

"Rakel takes a novel and compelling approach to the increasingly urgent problem of caregiver depression and burnout."

former First Lady Rosalynn Carter

"Rakel is the doctor-guide we all want: truly holistic, a keen observer of human behavior and medicine, and a voracious harvester of science across fields."

Dan Shapiro

2018-02-06
A family and integrative medicine practitioner extols the universal healing power of kindness and mutual respect.Rakel (Chair, Family and Community Medicine/Univ. of New Mexico; Integrative Medicine, 2002) explores the hot-button topic of empathy in everyday life. Using clinical anecdotes and drawing on 30 years of published sociology, psychology, meditative, and neuroscientific studies to support his theories and recommendations, the author promotes the synergistic two-way street of helping others while receiving in return the soul-nourishing emotional and physical benefits. "The human brain is actually wired for cooperation and giving," he writes. "But we're not always good at it." Though many often bungle it, Rakel clearly believes everyone has the capacity to promote, cultivate, and boost health, healing, and "positive contagion" by making a lasting human and mind-body connection with others. This involves refocusing energy and attention more toward improving our listening skills and on being present in moments of personal interaction. The author acknowledges that technological advances in medicine and social networking have robbed our culture of many avenues and opportunities to establish these connections, but he notes that it's up to us to do the work of releasing everyday biases, creating trustworthy bonds with others, and propagating mindfulness. While a lucidly presented, proactive approach to the benefits of human interactions, Rakel's two-part guide has the potential to confuse his target audience with overly scientific jargon. Sections on mirror neurons, neuroplasticity, and epigenetics may be too complex for general readers eager for life guidance. Conversely, chapters on caregiver burnout, nonverbal communication, and personal authenticity will be easily understood and will ring true to many with an open mind and a willingness to try. In furthering the agenda of altruism and empathy, Rakel believes a more considerate world is indeed possible. Readers open to positive change will welcome this guidebook and apply the book's mindfulness meditations offered in an appendix.A relevant, necessary reminder about the power of kindness and good intentions.

Kirkus Reviews