A mental health nurse is working with a client experiencing severe depression. The nurse wants to provide supportive care while avoiding becoming emotionally overwhelmed. Which statement best reflects the difference between sympathy and empathy in this context?

Sympathy involves understanding and sharing the client’s feelings, while empathy is feeling sorry for them.

Sympathy is feeling sorry for the client, while empathy is the ability to understand and communicate that understanding without judgment.

Sympathy creates emotional distance, whereas empathy fosters a deeper emotional connection without losing objectivity.

Sympathy and empathy are interchangeable terms that both involve feeling the client’s emotions deeply.