Why Emotional Intelligence should not be underestimated

We interviewed Mª Teresa Mata Massó, psychologist and expert in Emotional Intelligence.

Thousands of years ago the human being began to sense that there is something that today we call intelligence. This set of mental abilities has a concrete and a highly abstract facet, which means that it is embodied in any day-to-day action, such as accounting, but it is also noticeable beyond each of them. It is latently present in us, so that it reflects tendencies in our behavior: he who is skilled in performing one mathematical operation tends to be skilled in performing others as well.

But the fact that intelligence is an abstract latent trait has led to a great deal of debate when it comes to defining its limits and giving a definition to the concept. What exactly does it mean to be intelligent? The concept of Emotional Intelligence helps us to grasp new dimensions of intelligent behavior.

Discovering Emotional Intelligence

Surely because of the pressures of the labor market, which places more value on some tasks than others depending on their ability to generate profitable products, those skills related to mathematics and the use of language have been the central pillar of what we understand as intelligence.

But in recent decades, ideas have appeared that question this vision of intelligence, considering it to be limited. Intelligence is a set of different "bundles" of mental skills, yes, but some of them are not.Yes, but some of them cannot be measured by solving exercises with a predetermined correct answer to be written down on a sheet of paper. Emotional Intelligence is an example of this, because it is based on the regulation and interpretation of emotional states.

To shed more light on the nature of this type of mental aptitude, on this occasion we interviewed Mª Teresa Mata Massó, general health psychologist at the Mensalus Institute in Barcelona, an expert in Emotional Intelligence.

How would you explain in a summarized way what Emotional Intelligence is?

Emotional Intelligence is that part of intelligence that pays special attention to the functionality of our system of thoughts, emotions and actions, with the aim of ensuring their sustainability. If what I feel is not in accordance with what I think, if what I do is not faithful to what I believe, if what I end up externalizing is far from who I think I am, I will hardly be able to feel good about myself and others (what they call emotional well-being).

Statistically, what aspects of our lives help us predict whether we have higher or lower EQ? For example, scoring high on EQ makes us more likely to...

Having EQ makes us people who give ourselves the opportunity to choose according to circumstances, our beliefs, our values, our moods, etc. Nothing is determined and, therefore, the decision is always possible. This offers freedom to the individual, allowing him to move in a coherent and fluid way. Thus, if we have emotional intelligence, we are more likely to function better and achieve our goals, and not at any price.

How can we use Emotional Intelligence training in the context of psychotherapy?

In psychotherapy we are constantly analyzing and training the EQ of the individual. Knowing exactly the elements that compose it will help us to have clearer therapeutic objectives.

For example, we may aim to work on assertiveness because the patient communicates in a passive communicative style and finds it difficult to set limits. Well, what will we train in assertiveness? the reasons why this person finds it difficult to say no? his assertive rights and, with this, his self-concept and self-esteem? his difficulty in accepting criticism and his tendency to personalize? the possibility of analysis from a more objective position (the spectator role)? etc.

If we know in depth the elements that constitute this part of intelligence, we will be able to create intervention strategies that pursue very specific objectives and not remain on the surface.

In what type of psychological problems does it help the most to have worked on this type of mental skills?

There are no specific psychological problems for which EQ is more necessary, since it is always necessary. Depending on the problem, we will work more on some skills or others. For this reason, from the Psychotherapy and Emotional Intelligence trainings we emphasize the importance of carrying out a diagnostic hypothesis and creating clinical hypotheses that allow us to work and pursue specific objectives as I have explained in the previous question.

Could you give an example of how EQ helps us to change our perspective on our problems?

Developing EQ means questioning certain "comfort zones" from which we feel safe (but not comfortable) and discovering what exists outside. This requires contemplating new points of view, putting into practice new ways of doing things, creating new thoughts, feeling new ways of being, etc.

This is only possible if we have mental flexibility or, as I like to define it: emotional plasticity.

Emotional Intelligence allows us to increase our capacity to create and restructure. We prove this with techniques that show the emotional plasticity from the creation of unattempted solutions. An example is the dynamics with LEGO construction pieces. The work of manipulating pieces in response to a mobilizing question (asked by the therapist) awakens spontaneous cognitive responses that are less based on "the known" or "the repeated". This type of exercise offers useful and highly graphic information to the patient.

In order to assess how psychological therapy can benefit from interventions based on Emotional Intelligence, we must be clear about whether in general everyone can train these skills, and from what age can we work on these competencies in patients?

We must clarify that EQ is made, not born, so everyone can train it throughout life, there is no age. When working on it, the important thing is to know the specific needs of that person and, of course, to go into who that person is in order to understand how his or her system of thoughts and emotions has been shaped. Life experiences, emotional heritage, personality traits and their current moment will give us clues to understand how they construct reality and what elements can help them to improve their functionality.

Finally... How do emotionally intelligent people usually deal with the emotion of sadness?

By accepting that it is a useful emotion, just like all other emotions. We need emotion to understand who we are and who the people around us are. We cannot live well without this GPS, we would be totally lost. Sadness, fear, anger, ...are life guides.

How to be trained in Emotional Intelligence?

One of the positive aspects of training in Emotional Intelligence is that the skills we acquire by polishing this type of mental processes are applicable to any area of life. Regardless of the conditions in which we live, perfecting them will produce a significant change, since our own and other people's emotions are something inherent to life.

If you are interested in this type of learning program, the online course Expert in Emotional Intelligence of Instituto Mensalus can meet your needs. The course starts on September 17, 2018 and ends on November 17 of the same year, and consists of theoretical-practical classes, audiovisual learning material, virtual classroom and supervision by a tutor. Registration is already open, so if you are interested in signing up or obtaining more information, you can do so through the Mensalus website or through the contact details you will find by clicking on this link.