Human Services Personnel Get Training in Emotional Intelligence

Last week, we told you about members of the Ministry of Public Service engaging in emotional intelligence training. The two-day seminar was replicated today at the University of the West Indies Open Campus but with staff from the Ministry of Human Development, Families and Indigenous People’s Affairs.  The training is being facilitated by the Loving is Key Corporate Trainings. News Five’s Duane Moody reports.

Duane Moody, Reporting

Approximately twenty-five persons employed in various areas of social work with the Ministry of Human Development, Families and Indigenous People’s Affairs are engaged in day-one of an emotional intelligence training to build their capacity in the service they provide to the country. It is a first step to the behavioral change that the department and ministry are looking for.

Diana Pook

Diana Pook, Civic Education Coordinator, Department of Human Services

“Being self-aware of their emotions and looking at their wellness and how identifying and learning more about emotional intelligence can help them with their clients and also co-workers that they deal with. We have officers from all the different areas in the ministry. We have officers from the department of human services, the community rehabilitation department and the women and family support department as well as staff from our policy and planning unit and from our accounts section and our registry section because everybody needs to learn about emotional intelligence.”

The training is being facilitated by the Loving is Key organization and focuses on improving self-awareness, increasing happiness and mindfulness, but also managing workplace anxiety and stress management. It’s about healthier lifestyles and workplace and how to achieve that. One of the facilitators is Jeanne Aguet-Cattouse.

Jeanne Aguet-Cattouse

Jeanne Aguet-Cattouse, Director, Loving is Key Corporate Trainings

“For whatever reason growing up, belief systems, traditions have taken us away from our true nature of love, peace and understanding. Of taking the moment to just step back and listen to the divine – whatever we call that higher being: God, infinite spirit, the universe, whatever – we have stopped listening to that wisdom.

Emotional intelligence breathes human kindness. It teaches us that no matter the color of our skin, our faith, where we are from, how poor or rich we are – at the end, we are all human beings – simple as one two three.”

It is about getting people out of themselves and what they perceived to be the norm. It is something that is resonating with Community Development Officer Khamir Sutherland from the Child Protection Services section of the Department of Human Services.

Khamir Sutherland

Khamir Sutherland, Community Development Officer, Child Protection Services

“We deal with a lot of personalities at the department of human services. We’re not only dealing with children, we are dealing with their families, we are dealing with the school and sometimes we don’t always get the results that we want and things don’t always go our way so we tend to become frustrated. Besides from just the children, the families, we have other agencies that we have to deal with and they don’t always make our jobs easy. So we can lash out and get annoyed, get frustrated, but sometimes we just have to take a step back and realize I am not doing this for me, I am doing this for these vulnerable children and just try to be calm in what we do. But sometimes it is not easy; it’s easier said than done.”

The seminar concludes on Wednesday. Duane Moody for News Five.