Differences among the general public and final year counselling and psychotherapy students in emotional intelligence (EI) : a quantiative study.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the differences in emotional intelligence (EI) between two groups: the general population and Counselling and Psychotherapy students in their final year. EI in the two groups was measured using the trait emotional intelligence questionnaire (TEIQue) which provided a comprehensive coverage of the sampling domain of trait EI. Items were scored on a seven point Likert scale and completion time was approximately twenty minutes. The dependent variable was the global trait (EI) and its 15 facets and four factors that contribute to this global EI score. The independent variables used were the two groups and gender. The aim of this research was to get an indication as to whether EI could possibly be influenced by psychotherapeutic training. Results showed that the group of final year therapists scored higher than the control group in the global trait EI score. This suggested that the trait EI of the final year therapist group has possibly developed over the course of their training. This result has possible implications for the training of Counselling and Psychotherapist students, the assessment of current practitioners and the general development of EI in the wider population.