A Study on Emotional Intelligence among Psychotherapists in Northern Uganda

Abstract

A growing number of studies have suggested that emotional intelligence could have an impact on several individual domains. However, few studies have been done on emotional intelligence among psychotherapists in Africa in general and Uganda in particular. The study was to determine the levels of emotional intelligence among psychotherapists in northern Uganda. Data collection occurred with surveys incorporating the Emotional Competency Inventory 2.0. Psychotherapists from northern Uganda participated with 207 respondents returning completed surveys. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics including percentages, median, minimum and maximum. Results indicates that 60.0% possessed high levels of self-awareness, 60.3% reported high levels of social awareness, 55.6% scored high in self-management domain and 70.1% scored highly in social skills. On the basis of these findings, suggestions and recommendations were made to include emotional intelligence as an integral component of training and incorporate emotional intelligence intervention techniques to benefit psychotherapists in managing work related stress.