Heron (1975) defined emotional competence as the ability to help others without attempts being driven or distorted by our own accumulated anxiety and distress. In his 1995 book ‘Emotional Intelligence’ (EI) Goleman extended these ideas by isolating the faculties contributing to this core competence. They are:
Being able to recognise ones own feelings, to build a vocabulary for them and to know the relationship between thought, feeling and action.
Examining actions to predict possible consequences. Being able to know whether action is ruled by feeling or not and whether this is appropriate.
Being aware of negative inner voices. Recognising projections and personal emotional triggers. Knowing how to deal with negative affect such as jealousy, anger and fear.
Knowing when one is stressed and having strategies to manage it.
Recognising, accepting and understanding the feelings of others.
Being able to talk about feelings easily without shame or fear. Owning and taking responsibility for feelings and being able to discriminate between one’s own feelings and those of other people.
Being able to identify and understand one’s own habitual behaviour and that of other people.
Feeling comfortable with oneself and one’s strengths and weaknesses. Having the ability to laugh with others and to laugh at oneself.
Taking responsibility for one’s feelings, for the consequences of one’s actions and honouring one’s commitments.
Being able to state one’s concerns and feelings without emotional overload.
Being capable of taking an assured part in all kinds of social interaction including being a group member and leading a group.
Being able to recognise and face conflict situations and having strategies to deal with them.
Self Help Gym
Staff Room
Consulting Rooms
Managers Office
Stress Reduction Centre
Burnout Recovery Suite
