Karen’s Research Focuses on Empathic Communication to Improve Wellbeing

What We Know

Dr Doherty’s findings are underpinned by evidence-based research

US Anxiety & Depresssion

1/2

50% of US adolescents aged 18-24 will suffer

(KFF, 2023)

UK Anxiety & Depresssion

1/3

34% of UK adolescents aged 18-24 report signs

(Kelly and Whitworth, 2024)

US Wellbeing

2/5

40% of US high school students persistently feel sad or hopeless

(CDC, 2023)

UK Wellbeing

1/4

25% of UK adolescents aged 15 not satisfied with life

(OECD, 2023)

Mental Health

1/2

48% of all mental health conditions begin by age 14

WHO, 2018)

Family Relationship Quality

is the most important component of young people's wellbeing.

(The Good Childhood Report, 2023; Rees, et al., 2010)

Dr Doherty's Groundbreaking Research Findings:

Feeling listened to by parents is linked with family relationship quality and young people’s psychosocial outcomes

Further - feeling listened to is measurable

Findings

Karen's discoveries include that feeling listened to is associated with:

Attachment relationships with parents
Family relationship satisfaction
Overall wellbeing
Happiness with aspects of life
Self-esteem

Feeling listened to is measurable by an eight-item unifactorial valid reliable scale, which she has named the Feeling Listened To Scale (FLTS).

Karen based the FLTS’s development on human-centred research including focus groups and thematic analysis, enabling lived experiences to inform item creation. She then used exploratory and confirmatory psychometric techniques to validate the FLTS.

Overview

The Feeling Listened To Scale (FLTS)

The Feeling Listened To Scale (FLTS) was developed through Karen’s PhD research to measure an individual’s experience of feeling genuinely heard. Created to address a gap in existing research and literature, the measure provides an evidence-based tool for understanding how feeling listened to impacts wellbeing and psychosocial outcomes. While rooted in parent–adolescent relationships, the FLTS has wider relevance across friendships, partnerships and professional contexts.

The Research

Feeling Listened To improves wellbeing

When we think back to our own childhood, many of us can remember how it felt when someone truly listened — and how it felt when they didn’t. Being heard makes us feel seen, valued and understood. It tells us that what we think and feel matters. When we grow up without that experience, it can be harder to trust our own voice — and harder to make space for others to share theirs.

But when we are listened to, something changes. We learn through experience what empathy feels like, which naturally shapes how we relate to others. Feeling listened to helps us to make sense of our own thoughts and makes us feel that are thoughts are valuable and worth listening to. We begin to recognise that making sure someone feels listened to isn’t just about staying silent, it’s about support and connection.