Imagine being able to acknowledge your or someone else’s feelings easily. You’d probably think that everyone in the world possesses this skill; however, just about 36% of the world’s population is capable of recognizing emotions in others.
This rare ability makes them emotionally intelligent. While a layperson may survive without emotional intelligence in counseling is a necessary soft skill.
Unfortunately, traditional medical training doesn’t focus on developing EI in mental health providers. So, medical students struggle to recognize/manage their emotions and see how their patients feel about something.
Honestly, lacking emotional intelligence makes a doctor’s job difficult. They may have a higher IQ, but no EI means they won’t win their patient’s trust that easily.
As a counselor, not having EI can potentially make you emotionally unavailable and vulnerable.
This blog explores the value of emotional intelligence for mental health professionals. Why should therapists learn to develop this key skill for career advancement? We’ll answer this question in detail.
Table of Contents
What is Emotional Intelligence in Counseling?
You may have heard of this term as emotional quotient (EQ) as well. It simply refers to our inherent ability to recognize emotions, ours and other people’s. When you recognize, express, and control your feelings, even in stressful situations, you’re said to be emotionally intelligent.
That’s what EI is all about. Sadly, a survey by the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association shows that medical schools are damaging students’ emotional intelligence. Honing this ability can prove worthwhile for one’s career in the mental health service sector, and academic pursuits are a viable option.
Academic programs like counseling degree programs help you become empathy-driven, compassionate guides to those in need. These online programs will sharpen your EI skills so you’ll better connect with your patients; EI makes you more resilient, empathetic, and insightful. As a mental health provider, you should master these 4 aspects of EI:
⦁ Emotional Awareness: Developing self-awareness of emotions
⦁ Emotional Honesty: Acknowledging emotions without judgment
⦁ Emotional Literacy: Expressing emotions appropriately in different situations
⦁ Emotional Management: Acknowledging and redirecting other people’s emotions
Next, we’ll discuss 8 amazing ways a counselor gets better at their job with sharpened EI skills.
8 Ways Emotional Intelligence Makes You a Better Counselor
Let’s discuss in depth how honing your EI skills will make you a better mental health expert:
⦁ Better Self-Awareness
Sharpened EI skills help you better understand how your feelings impact your decisions. When you’re feeling frustrated with a patient, emotional intelligence skills prevent your annoyance from ruining your honest, unbiased medical diagnosis.
Being aware of your triggers will stop you from projecting these feelings onto hapless patients. That’s how EI keeps you unbiased and supportive in your professional dealings.
⦁ Enhanced Self-Regulation
Emotional intelligence helps you modify your behavior and stay calm in tricky situations. Let’s say a patient has shared a disturbing story or traumatic experience with you. Here, high EI skills will help you keep your emotions in check and focus on helping the patient.
Similarly, when patients are experiencing intense sadness or anger in a session, EI skills prevent them from reacting impulsively.
High-EQ counselors will respond by staying calm and composed in these situations. They’ll maintain the therapeutic nature of the job so patients can explore difficult emotions without the fear of judgment or criticism.
⦁ Develop Empathy
A counselor isn’t good at their job if they aren’t empathetic toward patients. High-EI mental health workers resonate better with a patient’s emotions. They don’t just recognize another person’s emotions but also see things from the patient’s perspective. It helps them provide better care to those burdened with stress, trauma, and depression. They are also better at
picking up on non-verbal cues, as such:
⦁ Gestures
⦁ Body language
⦁ Shifting tone of voice
⦁ Changing facial expressions
This sensitivity lets counselors address issues that most clients may not want to discuss openly, leading to more meaningful therapeutic solutions.
⦁ Improved Communication
Developing better EI skills will make you better at interpreting thoughts and feelings, ultimately earning your patient’s trust. You’ll articulate complex ideas by breaking down important medical information into easy-to-digest chunks. Gaining a patient’s trust this way will make their treatment more effective.
Also, high-EQ counselors are good listeners. They make their patients feel heard and valued. That’s how EI leads to an open dialogue, boosting doctor-patient relationships and improving treatment outcomes.
Nothing benefits a person suffering from stress more than getting a counselor who pays attention.
⦁ Good Stress Management
Mental health workers often face emotionally charged situations that make them prone to stress and burnout. A study from 2022 reveals that therapists who usually listen to narratives about trauma and stress develop burnout quickly. But EI skills can prevent that by:
⦁ Helping you recognize your triggers
⦁ Showing how these triggers affect your performance
⦁ Letting you find stress management techniques to overcome these triggers
That’s why studies have suggested that higher-EI counselors have increased humanistic care ability, i.e., they can easily empathize with their patients and provide care without experiencing burnout themselves.
⦁ Staying Resilient 24/7
Mental health professionals often find themselves in stressful situations; e.g., 50% of doctors report being verbally and physically abused by disgruntled patients or their equally offended family members.
High-EI counselors stay resilient in these situations by:
⦁ Maintaining perspective when things get tough
⦁ Keep their calm when faced with abusive individuals
⦁ Understand the underlying issues resulting in such behavior
⦁ Reframing negative experiences as growth/learning opportunities
⦁ Never reacting impulsively and seeking support from fellow staff members
When counselors demonstrate perseverance and a positive outlook despite difficulties, they also provide clients with a powerful example of how to navigate challenges in their own lives, setting an example.
⦁ Successfully Resolve Conflicts
Conflicts are everyday affairs for health workers. Whether it’s a conflict your patient has with their family members, another patient, or even you, EI skills will help you quickly resolve these conflicts. You can even turn conflicts into teachable moments for your clients when you practice emotional intelligence.
When you have developed better emotional intelligence, it’ll allow you to make your clients much better at conflict resolution. They will handle disputes more effectively in their personal lives.
To cut the story short, emotional intelligence (EI) hones patient outcomes, letting mental health experts better understand what their clients are going through. Enhancing your EI directly benefits your medical practice.
It teaches you to never react impulsively or lose your calm when faced with stress-inducing or offensive situations. High-EQ individuals excel at stress management and easily earn their patients’ trust, leading to better health outcomes.
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