Wel­come to the net­work for stu­dents, work­ers, pro­fes­sion­als, and lead­ers inter­ested in trans­for­ma­tive approaches to emo­tional intel­li­gence for shap­ing them­selves and their worlds in pos­i­tive, pur­pose­ful ways.  Involve­ment in EITRI is appro­pri­ate and wel­comed for any­one inter­ested in emo­tional intel­li­gence (EI) top­ics includ­ing EI knowl­edge and the­ory, train­ing and edu­ca­tion, spe­cial­ized appli­ca­tions, and research.

EITRI’s Pur­pose

Coor­di­nated by Emo­tional Intel­li­gence Learn­ing Sys­tems, Inc., the Emo­tional Intel­li­gence Train­ing and Research Insti­tute (EITRI) was estab­lished in 2006 as an asso­ci­a­tion for indi­vid­u­als with inter­est in train­ing, edu­ca­tion, and research projects that empha­size and extend trans­for­ma­tive emo­tional intel­li­gence (EI) the­ory and prac­tice, worldwide.

EITRI’s Goal

Our goal is to pro­vide a liv­ing forum and process for stu­dents, work­ers, and pro­fes­sion­als inter­ested in a col­lab­o­ra­tive net­work for engag­ing self, one another, and oth­ers in devel­op­ing emo­tional intel­li­gence.  Our mis­sion is to help each other develop and deliver train­ing and edu­ca­tion, new appli­ca­tions and method­olo­gies, and research related to trans­for­ma­tive EI.

EITRI Objec­tives

Pro­vide a forum for indi­vid­u­als inter­ested in shar­ing, learn­ing, devel­op­ing, and apply­ing trans­for­ma­tive EI.

1. Main­tain a vir­tual envi­ron­ment as a gath­er­ing place and resource for EITRI mem­bers to net­work, share, and learn about EI using the con­ve­nience of the internet.
2. Coor­di­nate the Annual EI Insti­tute and Con­fer­ence to pro­vide a phys­i­cal gath­er­ing place for EI minded net­work­ing, shar­ing, and renew­ing in per­son.  The first Annual Insti­tute for Emo­tional Intel­li­gence was con­vened at Texas A&M University-Kingsville in 2004.  The 9th Annual con­fer­ence and insti­tute will con­vene doing the week of Feb­ru­ary 20–25, 2012 in San Anto­nio, Texas.
3. Pub­lish The Inter­na­tional Jour­nal for Emo­tional Intel­li­gence (TIJEI).  The  jour­nal will pub­lish peer reviewed arti­cles on top­ics related to trans­for­ma­tive EI.

What is EI?

Short Def­i­n­i­tion: Emo­tional Intel­li­gence (EI) is the learned abil­ity to think con­struc­tively and act wisely.  EI is best taught and devel­oped when viewed as learned skills and abil­i­ties that can be prac­ticed and devel­oped.  Accord­ing to Nel­son and Low (2003, 2011), the major life and work ben­e­fits of EI include the facil­i­ta­tion of (a) accu­rate knowl­edge and value of self, (b) a vari­ety of healthy rela­tion­ships, © pro­duc­tive work with oth­ers, and (d) effec­tive reac­tions to the demands and pres­sures of every­day work and life.

What is Trans­for­ma­tive EI?

We think of  trans­for­ma­tive EI in terms of the edu­ca­tion model devel­oped by Dar­win Nel­son, Ph.D. and Gary Low, Ph.D. (1977-present).  Dr. Sey­mour Epstein (1998) noted that when peo­ple think con­struc­tively they are emo­tion­ally intel­li­gent;  when they don’t, they’re not.  Trans­for­ma­tive approaches to EI empha­size and respect the indi­vid­ual learn­ing and expe­ri­ence that is inte­gral to devel­op­ing con­struc­tive think­ing and resul­tant wiser behav­ior.  Trans­for­ma­tive EI is person-centered and phe­nom­e­no­log­i­cal; it respects the sub­jec­tive expe­ri­ence of the per­son.  By def­i­n­i­tion, trans­for­ma­tive approaches com­bine pos­i­tive assess­ment expe­ri­ences (explo­ration) with EI learn­ing mod­els, sys­tems, and strate­gies (cog­ni­tive struc­tures) to facil­i­tate indi­vid­ual growth and devel­op­ment in the major areas of EI (see “What Is EI?”, above).

How You Can Participate?

EITRI pro­vides affil­i­a­tion oppor­tu­ni­ties at four indi­vid­ual mem­ber­ship lev­els (Col­le­gial, Asso­ciate, Fel­low, and Fac­ulty).  Insti­tu­tional sup­port oppor­tu­ni­ties are also avail­able.  In addi­tion to the infor­ma­tion pro­vided to the pub­lic through the EITRI web­site, online train­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties are planned and will be included in the future.  Par­tic­i­pa­tion pro­vides a pro­gres­sive and sys­tem­atic way to learn, teach, and model EI skills, as well as other spe­cific ben­e­fits. We encour­age any­one inter­ested in learn­ing more about emo­tional intel­li­gence to attend our annual con­fer­ence and related events.