Emotional Intelligence and Empathy in Counseling

Running head: INTELLIGENCE
Emotional Intelligence
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INTELLIGENCE 2
According to Bloom, (2017), empathy is the act of understanding another person’s
experiences. It involves experiencing life the way that person is feeling it. For instance, if one
can consider the case of counseling, a client may come with a situation different from that of the
counselor. Consequently, the counselor should easily understand the client. The client would be
happy if he or she gets respect and understanding from the counselor. Such a condition is
empathy. Having empathy assist the counselor to find the best way to help the client in any
challenge he or she may present according to Davis, (2018).
On the other hand, emotional intelligence is one’s capability to realize his or her
emotions and manage them in every situation according to Carson, Carson & Birkenmeier,
(2016). Emotional intelligence does not only concerns one’s ability to control his own emotions
but also of other people. The capability of realizing the feelings assist in ensuring that the person
gets the best strategy to think and give a solution to various challenges. For instance, an
individual may cheer other people to regulate their feelings to give a chance to other people.
There exist a certain level of connection between emotional intelligence and empathy.
Empathy is an aspect of emotional intelligence. However many people interchangeably use the
words. Apart from the above relationship, another connection between the two issues is that both
of them need self-discipline. The self-discipline comes when an individual such as a counselor
set aside his or her emotions and feelings to focus on addressing the needs and the feelings of
another person. However, when it comes to the case of studying an individual, empathy comes
first. Empathy is the component that allows the counselor to understand the feelings of the client
deeply. After understanding, that is when emotional intelligence solves everything. The
emotional intelligence then assists the counselor to communicate how they have understood the
feelings of the clients and the impacts of the emotions. Consequently, the combination of