Exploring the Superpower of Empathy

In this 2024 conversation with Justine Willis Toms, Dr. Orloff suggests that empathy is a bedrock of healing in difficult situations and needs to be a daily priority and become a habit, not just a fleeting desire. She also has cautions and advice for us: can we have too much empathy? How to work with those who, on the empathy spectrum, have an empathy deficient disorder such as narcissists? Empathy, she says, will lead us in expressing our most authentic, fierce, and compassionate self, and that we must have empathy for our survival personally, our happiness, our intimacy, our connections to others, and also for the earth and the world. She points out that studies have shown that acts of empathy can have positive effects on our immune response. 

Judith Orloff, M.D. is a member of the UCLA Psychiatric Clinical Staff and specializes in treating empaths and sensitive people in her private practice. She offers Empathy Training Programs to businesses and organizations and teaches empathic tools to doctors, corporate teams, leaders, managers, customer service and trainers, as well as individuals. She has been called the “godmother of the empath movement.' She is the author of:


- The Ecstasy of Surrender: 12 Surprising Ways Letting Go Can Empower Your Life (Harmony books 2014)
- Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself from Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life (Harmony Books 2009)
- The Empath's Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People (Sounds True 2017)
- The Genius of Empathy: Practical Skills to Heal Your Sensitive Self, Your Relationships & the World (Sounds True 2024)

Interview Date: 2/19/2024    Tags: Judith Orloff, narcissist, compassion, suffering, heart meditation, caregiving, caregivers, caretaking, Kristi Nelson, gratefulness, Personal Transformation, Psychology