Healthcare Professionals' Perceptions of Emotional Intelligence in Remote Counselling-A Descriptive Qualitative Study.
Maija Litendahl, Juulia Kaihlaniemi, Olli Autio and 2 others
PMID 40237218WHAT IT FOUND
Healthcare professionals described emotional intelligence in remote counselling as dialogue: building rapport, understanding patients, and regulating their own emotions.
Reduced cues, text-based messages and technical problems made this harder.
Key findings
01In 16 healthcare professionals, perceptions of emotional intelligence in remote counselling fell into two main categories: emotional intelligence expressed through dialogue, and factors shaping its use.
02Professionals said emotional intelligence was shown by building rapport, understanding and communicating understanding, regulating their own emotions, recognising patient emotions and providing emotional support.
03Professionals perceived remote counselling as harder for emotional interpretation because physical separation, limited eye contact, text-based messages and connection problems disrupted rapport and sensitive moments.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The sample was 16 healthcare professionals from northern Finland, so it may not represent other settings. Purposive sampling may have selected participants who already had positive attitudes toward remote counselling. The study asked healthcare professionals about their perceptions, not patients, so it does not show patient experiences or counselling outcomes. Quotes were translated from Finnish into English, and the report was written in English, which was not the first researcher's native language. One interview was conducted with a second interviewer, which may have influenced the content. Only manifest content was analysed, not latent meaning.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. No funding source or sponsor role is reported in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as proof that emotional-intelligence training improves remote counselling outcomes. The study interviewed healthcare professionals about their perceptions, not patients, and reported no outcomes.