Background:

Emotional Competence (EC) is defined as a set of knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes necessary to understand, express and adequately regulate emotional phenomena, as well as perform various activities with a high level of quality and effectiveness. This competence is highly relevant in mental health environments, strongly influencing interpersonal competencies and the therapeutic relationship. The development and implementation of these competencies in clinical practice produces gains to the organization, patient and nurses’ mental health. There are few studies assessing clinical supervision as a formal support strategy to the development of these competencies in nurses either at an initial or continuing training.

Aim:

To evaluate the implementation of the SafeCare Model in the development of the emotional competence of nurses of a Mental Health service.

Methods:

Mixed study characterized by concomitant triangulation, including a descriptive quantitative study, followed by semi-structured interviews.

Results:

No statistically significant differences were found between the two moments. In the content analysis nurses identified positive changes in their personal and professional development, team communication, conflict management and relationships between groups. They also reported changes in the quality of care and in the organizations.

Conclusions:

The implementation of the SafeCare Model has very likely contributed to the development of nurses’ emotional competence in a Mental Health context. However, further research is needed to improve efficacy of the model implementation.

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