The capacity for empathy as a component of psychologist’s professional abilities

The article is devoted to the empathy as a process of understanding the emotional state of another person, the ability to respond to the emotional experiences of others. In the literature there are different approaches to the definition of empathy as individual property. Determining factors in the development of empathy and the optimal level of it's severity are relevant today for effective work of a psychologist. The purpose of the article is an analysis of a study conducted among students - future psychologists to determine their level of professional empathy abilities, values and direction of their personality. At a time when in society there exist much competition, consumerism, aggression problem together humanity and empathy is particularly relevant. We consider empathy as social - psychological property of the person, which is a set of social and psychological abilities of the individual, in which this property is revealed both in relation to the object and subject to empathy. A number of such abilities include: the ability to respond emotionally to experience another person's ability to recognize the emotional state of another and mentally move oneself in thoughts, feelings and actions of another person's ability, to use methods of interaction to facilitate the suffering of another person. Thus, empathy is a complex, multi-phenomenon structure represented by a set of emotional, cognitive and behavioral skills and abilities. Empathy is an important part of professional skills, and the development of empathy is an essential component of professional training of students - future psychologists.