Building Community Well-being Through Emotional Intelligence and Cognitive Reframing
With communities facing so much unrest, here are two skills you can apply to help promote healing.
Fam Pract Manag. 2021 Jan-Feb;28(1):23-26.
Author disclosure: no relevant financial affiliations disclosed.

Family physicians lead by example and play a major role in the health and well-being of their communities. Their contributions go far beyond clinical care and are reflected in volunteer work on school boards, at homeless shelters, at free clinics, and within educational and service programs across the globe.
Community well-being is critically linked to individual well-being. Community health depends on the well-being of each member. Similarly, belonging to a strong community is essential to enhancing the well-being of individuals. It improves personal and professional health, and there's evidence it can reduce physician burnout.1,2
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs suggests that reaching the highest level of achievement or self-actualization depends on a strong foundation. Physiologic needs (food, water, and rest) as well as the need for safety and belonging are primal and must be met before we can reach our full potential. Further, the overall health of a community depends on collective progress toward self-actualization.
The year 2020 will be remembered for the COVID-19 pandemic that turned our daily lives upside down, protests over racial inequities in American society, and political division. No community was immune from these ills, but some were hit harder than others. For example, the pandemic disproportionately harmed minority populations, with Black Americans experiencing death rates more than twice as high as white Americans.3
These challenges have shown us how small our world can be and how our well-being is linked across the globe. We win or lose together. When one member is unwell, oppressed, or silenced, the whole population suffers. Community well-being commands a unified and healthy population.
Building healthy communities requires excellent clinical care and attention to social determinants of health. It also requires incorporating two new skills into your practice: emotional intelligence and cognitive reframing.
KEY POINTS
Community well-being depends on the well-being of each individual, and a healthy community enhances the well-being of its members.
Adverse experiences result in negative thoughts, emotions, and actions, and have the capacity to diminish community well-being.
Family physicians can help build healthy communities and lead change by using emotional intelligence to resolve fear, and cognitive reframing to correct distorted thoughts.
MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
Sources:
Maslow AH. A theory of human motivation. Psychol Rev. 1943;50(4):370–396.
Mcleod S. Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Simply Psychology. March 20, 2020. Accessed Dec. 8, 2020. https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

Sources:
Maslow AH. A theory of human motivation. Psychol Rev. 1943;50(4):370–396.
Mcleod S. Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Simply Psychology. March 20, 2020. Accessed Dec. 8, 2020. https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
References
show all references1. Nguyen NS, Métraux EL, Morris-Singer AF. Combating clinician burnout with community-building. NEJM Catalyst. July 31, 2018....
2. Pipas CF, Damianos JA, Montalbano L, Matous AL, Hua J, Shoop GH. A curriculum to promote a culture of wellness among medical students and faculty. PRiMER. 2020;4:13.
3. The color of coronavirus: COVID-19 deaths by race and ethnicity in the U.S. APM Research Lab. Updated Dec. 10, 2020. Accessed Dec. 10, 2020. https://www.apmresearchlab.org/covid/deaths-by-race
4. Mayer JD, Brackett MA, Salovey P, eds. Emotional Intelligence: Key Readings on the Mayer and Salovey Model. Dude Publishing; 2004.
5. Beck JS, Beck AT. Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond. 2nd ed. The Guilford Press; 2011.
6. Coffey SF, Banducci AN, Vinci C. Common questions about cognitive behavior therapy for psychiatric disorders. Am Fam Physician. 2015;92(9):807–812.
7. Beck AT, Haigh EAP. Advances in cognitive theory and therapy: the generic cognitive model. Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2014;10:1–24.
8. Rozin P, Royzman EB. Negativity bias, negativity dominance, and contagion. Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2001;5(4):296–320.
9. Haidt J. The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom. Basic Books; 2006.
Copyright © 2021 by the American Academy of Family Physicians.
This content is owned by the AAFP. A person viewing it online may make one printout of the material and may use that printout only for his or her personal, non-commercial reference. This material may not otherwise be downloaded, copied, printed, stored, transmitted or reproduced in any medium, whether now known or later invented, except as authorized in writing by the AAFP. Contact
fpmserv@aafp.org for copyright questions and/or permission requests.
Want to use this article elsewhere? Get Permissions
CME Quiz
More in FPM
Related Articles
Editor's Collections
Related Topic Searches
More in Pubmed
FPM E-Newsletter
Sign up to receive FPM's free, weekly e-newsletter, "Quick Tips & Insights."