Therapists and coaches can play a key role in strengthening their clients’ emotional intelligence
to help them achieve personal wellbeing.
EQI Training for Therapists and Coaches
EQI Training for Therapists and Coaches
EQI Training for Therapists and Coaches
A few years ago, a woman came into therapy expressing low energy accompanied by a somewhat defeated affect. She was bright and accomplished, but couldn’t figure out why she often felt sad and alone. The narrative data suggested she grew up in a relatively secure family environment and did not point to any specific traumas or incidents that would create her ongoing sadness. Her EQ-I 2.0 test, however, displayed very low scores on three competencies critical for emotional wellbeing—Self-Regard, Assertiveness and Optimism—, and very high scores on Stress Tolerance and Social Responsibility competencies. The relationship between these five competencies began explaining her feelings. As we pieced together what these competencies were saying, she began crying. Those, she said, were tears of relief: she could finally see a path out of the pain. And, she did. Armed with the knowledge of the EQ-I, she began making lasting changes that allowed her to experience a sense of personal flourishing. She carried the weight of the world on her shoulders, putting everyone else’s needs first, often at her own expense. As she worked hard in therapy on improving her competencies, this began to radically change.
Using the EQ-I in the therapeutic relationship helps clients see the possibility for sustained change and growth. Surveying the EQ-I 2.0’s fifteen competencies and the depth of their meaning is comparable to examining an MRI of the clients social and emotional functioning, at that moment in time. The competencies are presented as tools that clients can leverage to improve their social and emotional intelligence. The competencies that are stronger in a client’s profile can be used to advance the ones that require work and attention.
The practitioner can transform the competencies that clients see in the Feedback Report into a three-dimensional avatar of how they influence and shape the socio-emotional interactions with self and others. Sharing with clients how these competencies interact and serve to strengthen their socio-emotional intelligence moves clients toward their respective therapeutic goals quicker and in a sustained manner.
The Structure of the EQI training
The EQ-I training is directed specifically toward working with clients in a clinical or coaching capacity. The training emphasizes how to give clients feedback to build on throughout their clinical experience with the therapist/coach. The conversations unfold naturally and organically with regard to the specific goals clients are bringing into the therapeutic/coaching relationship. The EQ-I information dove tails with the narrative data clients provide, often immediately shining light into the areas that have left the client both frustrated and unable to fully articulate. Knowing how to interpret the EQ-I and share the interpretation with client’s takes time and training. It requires understanding how these competencies move in relation to one another, as they are connected like the silk in a spider web. Whether proximally or distally, they are all connected. Being able to explore the depth of those connections with clients is what begins to move the dial in the direction of personal wellbeing.
EQI 2.0 Certification Training for Practitioners
1st Day—Web-portal training
It lays the foundation for understanding the EQ-i2.0 model and the overarching meaning of the five composites and fifteen competencies, which are the backbone of the EQ-I model.
Three day In-person training
- The first two days focus on better understanding the nuances of the instrument, and provides lots of practice for giving feedback to clients.
- The third day focuses on how to use the assessment throughout the therapeutic relationship. This fundamentally entails understanding how to and feeling comfortable with giving feedback to the client at various stages based on his/her therapeutic or coaching goals. The goal is to breed familiarity with the instrument, with an eye on how to use it in your daily practice.
By the end of the certification program, participants will be able to:
- Define emotional intelligence and understand its importance in the therapeutic process
- Describe the components of the EQ-i0 including defining composite scales and subscales
- Understand the science behind the EQ-i0
- Interpret an EQ-i0 assessment along with understanding the intricacies of the competencies’ interaction
- Administer the EQ-i0 through your own administration portal
- Follow a structured approach to preparing for a feedback session (a great deal of time is spent on this)
- Demonstrate the ability to conduct an effective assessment feedback session
- Explain the benefits of EI to their client
- Describe how EI applies to different disciplines and is extremely individual in terms of competencies and their importance for personal wellbeing
- Identify resources available post-certification in terms of receiving ongoing support in continually learning the various nuances of the assessment
- Determine which report type is best for your client, i.e., Workplace Report, Leadership Report, Group Report or Higher Education Report
My Expertise
For over eleven years, I have been a master trainer in the EQ-I 2.0 and EQ 360. The cornerstone of my training is focused on teaching clinicians and coaches how to use the EQ-I instrument in order to enhance the work with their clients.