Psychology, Emotion and Intuition in Work Relationships: The Head, Heart and Gut Professional

Psychology, Emotion and Intuition in Work Relationships: The Head, Heart and Gut Professional highlights the increasing importance of human relations in professional life. In modern society, all those who work with or provide services to others are increasingly called upon to be not just technical experts, but also `head, heart and gut professionals' - who can work and relate to others with their head, heart, and gut.

The book explains and synthesises these elements in an accessible way, based on a sound theoretical perspective combined with practical guidance. The authors address how to manage client expectations; how to deal with risk, uncertainty and imperfection, as well as how to improve communication and interpersonal skills. Attention is also given to the central role of empathy and rapport in professional relationships, while recognising the need for proper professional boundaries.

Psychology, Emotion and Intuition in Work Relationships will be a valuable guide for all modern practising and training professionals in a broad range of fields, including mental health, law, social and healthcare, teaching and academia, technology, financial and other services - indeed, for anyone who provides services and has working relationships of any kind.

Psychology, Emotions and Intuition in Work Relationships: The Head, Heart and Gut Professional

Contents Plan

1. On being a professional

The concept of "professional" in this work

A more effective professional role and understanding

The focus on substantive education and training

Gaining some understanding of the behaviour of others

Gaining some understanding about ourselves

What does the public expect from professionals?

Professional and personal authenticity

Professional jargon, mystification and patronisation

Conspiracy against the laity

The patronising professional

Client's reactions and empowerment

Helping and healing professions

Defining the helping professions

Healing professions

The concept of the wounded healer

Further reading

2. Head, heart and gut:

Head - Brain and mind

Head, heart and gut in functioning and decision-making

The brain: central to understanding and functioning

Basic neuroscience: the brain and nervous system

Introduction to 100 billion neurons:

The nervous system

The human brain: old and new

The brain's hemispheres: left and right brain

Two ways of thinking

Automatic processing

Conscious attentive processing

Intelligence

Some specialist views of the brain

The mindful brain

The social brain

The ethical brain

The spiritual brain

The mommy brain

The "new" brain

The mind

Further reading

3. Head, heart and gut:

Heart - Emotions

The heart as metaphor?

Cultural and biblical heritage

The heart's physiological role in relation to the brain and emotions

Emotions and feelings

Emotional intelligence

Kinds of emotions

The purpose and effect of emotions

Feelings and consciousness

Emotions: reality and myths

The myth of rational decision-making

The myth that "negative emotions" are bad

The myth that "venting" an emotion will resolve it

The myth that women are emotional but men are not

Further relevance of emotions

Further reading

4. Head, heart and gut:

Gut - Intuition

Gut as metaphor

Intuition

What do we mean by intuition?

Everyday and expert intuition

A sixth sense?

Creative and predictive intuition

Complementary thinking

Heuristics

Intuition cautions

Availability error

The halo (and devil) effect

Framing effect

Fundamental attribution error

The representativeness heuristic

The overconfidence effect

Anchoring

Sunk costs fallacy

Some other factors and biases affecting intuition

Further reading

5. The hidden power of the unconscious

Don't mention the war

Dagwood Bumstead and Basil Fawlty

Fundamental relevance of the unconscious

Freud's unconscious

Jung's collective unconscious and "shadow"

The cognitive approach

Freudian, Jungian or cognitive? What is this elusive unconscious? Does it even exist?

Some practical implications

Making decisions and choices: free will?

Intuition and "gut feelings"

Slips of the tongue and other errors

Body language (non-verbal communication)

Placebos and nocebos, Pygmalion and Rosenthal

Powerful and suppressed emotions distort effective functioning

Unconscious competence

Higher intuitions and inspiration

A springboard to other aspects

Further reading

6. The amygdala hijack: Triggers and strategies

The multiple roles of the amygdala

The amygdala hijack

Triggering the "amygdala hijack"

Fear

Panic

Anger

Shame and humiliation

21 ^st Century multi-tasking

Rekindling amygdala hijack activators

Some strategies for dealing with amygdala hijack triggers

Empathy and compassion

Move off the topic causing distress

Support a shift into cognitive brain mode

Take a break

Deep breathing

Humour

Some longer-term strategies

Further reading

7. Understanding personality

The uniqueness of personality

Lord Scrutton's elephant

The relevance of personality

Personality types and traits

Big Five

Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

Contradictions in traits and preferences

Other personality tests

Personality disorders and traits

DSM-5 and other classifications

Maladaptive personality traits

Personality development

Cultural influences on behaviour patterns

Linear-active and multi-active

Cultural norms

Nature or nurture?

Some practical implications

Self-awareness

Relating to clients, patients, co-workers and others

Identifying and working with troubled personalities

The well-rounded professional

Further reading

8. Empathy, attunement and professional boundaries

Empathy: The essence of professional and personal relationships

Empathy and evolution

Empathy and sympathy

Empathy and rapport

Empathy in a professional context

Empathy, compassion and humanity

Empathy and reflective function (mentalisation or "theory of mind")

"Against empathy"?

Attunement

Attunement between parent and child: attachment theory

Interpersonal adult attunement

Intrapersonal attunement

The basic neuroscience of empathy, attunement and attachment

Mirror neurons

Other parts of the brain affecting empathy and attunement

Neural development and attachment

Neurobiology

Professional boundaries

Boundaried empathy

Other professional boundaries

Personal-professional boundaries

Some final thoughts about boundaries

Further reading

9. Professional relationships and expectations

Expectations of professional relationships

Expectations about the professional personally

Expectations about the professional environment

Expectations about the work to be done

Managing clients' expectations

The power of expectations

Client centredness (person-centredness)

Transference and countertransference

Transference

Countertransference

Authority, p ower, trust and dependence

Authority

Power

Trust

Dependence

Culture and gender

Culture

Gender

Further reading

10. Enhancing professional relationships: Communication and other interpersonal skills

Essential communication skills

Active listening

Observing non-verbal communications

Acknowledging

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