In Focus: Emotional Competencies in Times of Crisis

Dr. Avelina Lovis Schmidt from the Professorship of Educational and Developmental Psychology transferred her research results to her company "Fühlerei" and develops digital emotional exercises for various target groups

"In times of extraordinary stress, it should be the task of psychology to provide people with low-threshold tools that enable them to manage crises and conflicts independently and self-effectively," says Dr. Avelina Lovis Schmidt, research associate at the Professorship of Educational and Developmental Psychology at Chemnitz University of Technology. This range of competencies includes emotional competence, which encompasses the perception, identification, understanding, regulation, and communication of one's own and others' feelings. "We now know that reading a book or listening to a lecture designed to impart knowledge is not enough to bring about a lasting emotional change in oneself," Schmidt said. It is much more a matter of taking practical action, actively working through emotional baggage and being guided systematically. "However, psychotherapy is still not a suitable solution for all people. Waiting times for therapy are steadily increasing, and the feared pathologization of emotional problems is an obstacle for many people to seek therapy," the scientist estimates.

"Fühlerei": Digital emotion exercises for all

In light of this, Schmidt founded the e-commerce company "Fühlerei" in January 2022. "The Fühlerei is intended to help many people learn how to deal with aversive emotions in a low-threshold way via digital emotion exercises," says Schmidt. It is not a substitute for therapy, she said, but rather a supplement or a way to enter into the process of emotional change. The digital emotion exercises are offered commercially over the Internet platform for various target groups; in addition to individual exercises, there are also exercises for couples, small groups and parents. "The exercises are designed as a video in which individuals are guided step-by-step on how to get in touch with their feelings and needs in a benevolent way and how to communicate them to those around them", Schmidt explains.

The insights into the implementation of these exercises come, among other things, from her dissertation at Chemnitz University of Technology, in which courses for increasing emotional competence were evaluated. Promising factors of the exercises - besides the content - are the step-by-step guidance, examples close to everyday life, a question-guided approach that puts the person in an active role of their own change, the accompaniment of a writing process and the steering towards the integration process of the newly gained insights into everyday life.

How emotional competencies can best be trained digitally?

Currently, the effectiveness of the emotion exercises is being tested in digital form. For this purpose, experts are being interviewed and studies are being conducted with the help of final theses and research interns. The long-term goal is to create a guide for conducting digital exercises for coping with aversive emotions, which can provide assistance for further projects. This process is accompanied by a podcast in which Schmidt explores various content from the exercises in greater depth and conducts interviews with various groups of people, such as psychotherapists, on emotionally relevant topics. Furthermore, a project proposal is currently being initiated to secure funding for the research project over the next few years.

For more information on emotional competence research, contact Dr. Avelina Lovis Schmidt, email avelina-lovis.schmidt@psychologie.tu-chemnitz.de

(Translation: Brent Benofsky)

Mario Steinebach
06.10.2022

All "University News" articles