EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND REFLECTIVE PRACTICE ARE INTEGRAL COMPONENTS OF BUILDING A THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP IN NURSINGEmotional intelligence, often also called emotional intelligence quotient, is an individual's ability to perceive, evaluate, and manage their own emotions. oneself and others. [Mayer, 1997]. Intelligence has four main components, namely the ability to: Perceive emotion which is the first step in understanding emotions, to perceive them accurately. In many cases, this may involve understanding non-verbal signs such as body language and facial expressions. The next component involves using these emotional perceptions to complete various activities or tasks, meaning this step involves using emotions to promote thinking and cognitive activity. Understand emotional variations whereby perceived emotions can have a wide variety of meanings. The fourth element involves managing emotions to achieve goals, as the ability to effectively manage emotions is a key component of emotional intelligence. However, these four components are organized from basic psychological processes to higher, more psychologically integrated processes. [Mayer, 1997]. Additionally, emotional intelligence plays a vital role in the nursing profession. Therefore, “nurse-patient interaction” is the pulse of nursing practice. This interaction is not just a simple conversation. It is a complex process that involves the nurse's perception, understanding patients' emotions, and using these perceptions to manage the patients' situation with the goal of providing effective patient care. The concept of emotional intelligence has gained popularity among nurses over the past two decades, generating interest on both a social and professional level. Today, p...... middle of article ......t should be more realistically and appropriately integrated into the nursing professional through our transformative learning model for nursing education. Today, emotional intelligence is considered an important characteristic for building successful nursing leadership [Cicciu, 2002], improving nursing performance and reducing nurse burnout. References: Down Freshwater and Theodore Stickley (2004); The heart of the art: emotional intelligence in nursing education. Nursing survey. Gardner, H (1983). States of mind. New York: Basic Books. Goleman, D (2001). Working with Emotional Intelligence - New York: Bantam Books. Mayer, J. D. (1997). What is emotional intelligence?. New York: Basic Books.N. Humpel and P. Caputi (2001). Exploring the relationship between work stress, years of experience and emotional competence using a sample of Australian mental health nurses. Quick