Emotional competence (EC) is a learned ability based on emotional intelligence (Goleman 1998, 38), as the ability to perceive primary emotions and distinguish them from secondary and instrumental emotions, and to place them in context with basic bio-psycho-sociological needs (Stauss 2007, 31) and results in exceptional success at work and in relationships (Goleman 1998, 38). Bonding psychotherapy (BPT) is a group approach of deep, psychodynamic psychotherapy, the most important goal of which is to help an individual live in harmony with their basic bio-psycho-sociological needs, to achieve maximum physical and psychological well-being (Stauss 2007, 112), to improve the ability to be aware of their primary emotions, to distinguish between them and to express them in an appropriate way (29). The aim of the study was to determine whether BPT can enhance EC and whether a combination of several psychotherapeutic approaches leads to an improvement in EC. 108 participants participated in the study; the experimental group included 58 participants who attended BPT for 3 months and the control group included 50 participants who were not included in psychotherapeutic treatment. Differences between measurements and groups were determined using the Emotional Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ). The results did not show statistically significant differences in values, although the results on three of the four scales (IP, UU, ESCQ) were higher in the second measurement. Also, except for the Emotion Management and Regulation scale (p=0.0012), there were no statistically significant differences between the groups (1) participants who attended other types of psychotherapy concurrently or previously with BPT and (2) participants who attended only BPT, although the results of the 2nd group were higher on all ESCQ scales, which is contrary to the findings of other studies to date. Based on the results, we conclude that our study had important limitations due to the decrease in the number of participants and that further studies could contribute to both the understanding of BPT and the effectiveness of the methods, as well as the understanding of EC as a skill that can be strengthened.
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