Introduction to EQ2
"EQ2 allowed me to step outside of the frustration of behavioral management and recall what drives me to do this work."
What is EQ2?
You may be wondering… what is EQ2 exactly? Well, EQ2 is an interactive training and support program for direct care staff working with trauma-impacted youth.
The term “EQ2” refers to the combined emotional intelligence (or “EQ”) of staff and the youth they serve. The EQ2 Program is uniquely designed to help staff build the essential and often complex social and emotional regulation skills required to actively manage how they respond to youths’ traumatic stress reactions and challenging behavior.
Below are some of the things we cover in EQ2. Check off any that you think the staff you work with could benefit from:
"EQ2 allowed me to look at the youth I work with in a different light and also give me more understanding and patience when working with them."
This Online Facilitator Training
The EQ2 program contains 6 modules, each focusing on a different area of staff development. In this training, we’ll walk you through each of these modules in depth, and at the end of the training, you’ll receive a Certificate of Completion. Included in each facilitator training module are:
- A review of the basic skills covered in that module
- Tips for running groups
- Facilitator-specific guidance (e.g., leading meditations)
- Additional exercises and guidance on taking EQ2 into supervision and staff meetings
As we say in EQ2 groups, we encourage you to go through this training module by module, and to not skip anything. You can always go back and revisit anything you want. We also recommend you have your EQ2 Facilitator Guide (the orange book) with you as you go through the training.
A special note: We continue to create content for EQ2 based on feedback and ideas received from our community. You can find these additional worksheets, meditations, and resources in EQ2+, a separate course within your training portal . We’ll highlight some of these resources as we go through the training, but we encourage you to check out what’s there!
Getting Started
Throughout this training, you’ll hear from the program’s creator, Beth Casarjian, who will lead us through key concepts, skills, and facilitator tips to help you run your EQ2 groups with ease. Let’s listen to her introduction to EQ2! When you’re ready to start this video, press play.
The Three C's
Throughout this training, we’ll offer you best practices in implementation and facilitation, as well as ways to continue growing the program within your agency. But, if we had to distill down the top 3 things that make EQ2 successful in any agency, it’s the Three C’s: Champions, Consistency, and Coaching. Flip the card over to learn more, then click the arrow to read the rest. We’ll revisit these topics throughout the training.
Tips on Introducing EQ2 to Your Facility or Staff
Below you’ll find some additional tips we’ve put together over the years on best practices for introducing EQ2 to your facility or staff. Read through each one and write down any you want to remember. You can always come back and reference this list when you need it. Check out the EQ2+ section Extra EQ2 Pointers to find some additional ways to build agency-wide buy in!
After this, you’ll find a handout you can give to staff that explains what EQ2 is and how the groups can help them, as well as a list of common EQ2 terms that you can hang up for staff to see.
Prime Your System
If you haven’t already, many agencies find it useful to talk with all people in an administrative, leadership, or supervisory capacity about EQ2: what it is and what it can do for your agency. This helps get everyone on the same page. Even if they won’t participate directly in EQ2 groups, introduce the program by saying that EQ2 was developed uniquely for staff to:
- Build supportive interpersonal connections between staff that protect against burnout;
- Build self-regulation and relational skills with youth that translate to the creation of a more trauma-sensitive environment.
Do a Test Run
Many agencies have found it beneficial to do a “test run” of groups with administrators, supervisors, or facilitators first. This not only enables everyone to have exposure to EQ2 concepts and promotes a space to discuss implementation further, but also encourages a “top down” modeling of skills agency-wide.
Talk To Staff
Avoid presenting EQ2 as one more set of requirements for staff to master. Instead, let staff know that EQ2 is a resource that can help make their jobs and their lives easier. Acknowledge the importance and difficulty of direct care work. Then, reinforce the fact that how we show up in our roles as direct care workers matters. Emphasize that EQ2 is for them. Share the “What is EQ2” handout below for some other talking points!
Choose Participants
We recommend that EQ2 be used for existing employees who have at least a couple months “on the floor.” (While some agencies have choosen to use this as part of onboarding, we find the program has greater impact once staff are settled into their roles and have a real sense of what triggers them!)
Whenever possible, have staff with varied experience levels in the same group. While the concepts within EQ2 can be applied to all members of an agency, it is specifically written for direct care staff, and they should make up the majority of participants in the room.
Pro Tip: You may find that for your first group, you choose staff who might already be “bought-in” to the idea of staff wellness or support. This first group might organically become Champions or future facilitators!
Model, Encourage & Reinforce Skills Over Time
Leadership and EQ2 Champions should encourage the use of EQ2 skills throughout the day, make groups a priority, and reinforce skills in multiple areas (e.g., staff meetings, supervision, crisis debriefing). Just like youth, if staff are learning things that are not reinforced or promoted, they’ll be forgotten as quickly as they’re learned.
Be Mindful of Initiative Burnout
Many agencies have been overloaded by interventions. To avoid EQ2 being “just another program,” and to ensure that there is not an “initiative burnout,” spend some time examining how EQ2 fits in with existing programming.
You Have to Make the Time
Each EQ2 session takes about 90 minutes. But as they say, the hardest part about any intervention is finding the time to do it. Because the time constraints within each agency are unique, you are welcome to break each module down into smaller pieces (like three 30-minute groups). Holding groups at the same time every week and prioritizing EQ2 within the schedule can help.
Confidentiality
Healthy group process assumes safety, commitment, and confidentiality. These are basic requirements of any EQ2 group. Confidentiality is introduced in the first session. If there is a breach of confidentiality, it should be processed in a Conflict Circle.
Take Care of Yourself
You can’t give what you don’t have. If you are a supervisor or trainer, chances are you are responsible to some extent for the well-being of many people in your agency. Use these practices yourself and find someone either within the agency or on the outside who can sustain and support you as you do the important work of sustaining others.
Extra Resources
At the end of most sections in this online training, you’ll find some extra handouts, worksheets, or posters to print. These additional materials are meant to support your rollout of EQ2, dive deeper into a main skill, or support YOU as an EQ2 Facilitator!
What is EQ2?
Give this handout to staff to help introduce EQ2. Download it below, then print out, hand it out, hang it up, or send it in an email!
Pro Tip: Invite staff to reflect on each of these items as a way to build buy-in. You could ask:
- Which of the bullet points seems most important to you and why?
- Anything you are most interested in diving into?
- Do any of them feel most challenging for you now?
This brief handout highlights some of the common terms we use in EQ2. You can download below, then print it out to have on hand in case staff ask questions about what a particular term means.
Orientation Presentation
Over the years, Lionheart has been asked to create a short presentation describing EQ2 for new employees during their onboarding training. Below you’ll find a PowerPoint explaining what EQ2 is and some basic EQ2 facts. This gives new staff a preview of what’s to come!
Pro Tip: Use the speaker notes under each slide!
I thought that I was being objective in most situations but realized that there was definitely better ways to go about things.