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What is Dynamic Emotional Integration?

Your emotions – all of them – are the motivation for everything you think and every action you take, and Dynamic Emotional Integration® (also known as DEI) can help you access the intelligence, energy, and insight in every emotion you have.

Dynamic Emotional Integration® is based on the work of award-winning author and pioneering researcher, Karla McLaren, M.Ed., whose grand unified theory of emotions revalues even the most “negative” emotions and opens startling new pathways to self-awareness, effective communication, and healthy empathy.

DEI also incorporates her groundbreaking six essential aspects of empathy model, which makes empathy clearly understandable, accessible, and manageable for everyone (including people who have been exiled from earlier models of empathy).


Dynamic Emotional Integration® is a proprietary process that is taught in a 14-month licensing program here at Empathy Academy. All of the materials and concepts are copyrighted by Karla McLaren, M.Ed. and by Emotion Dynamics Inc.

Only licensed Dynamic Emotional Integration® Trainers and Consultants are permitted to use this work professionally (this includes the copyrighted work in Karla McLaren's books, audio learning programs, and online courses).

Learn More About the DEI Licensing Program


Dynamic Emotional Integration® is based on the work in Karla McLaren's books, and you can follow these links to learn more:

The Language of Emotions: What Your Feelings are Trying to Tell You

Your ability to work intelligently with your emotions is a key factor in determining your overall well-being. But how many of us were taught what to do in the face of overwhelming grief, seething anger, or paralyzing fear? Through experiential exercises covering a full spectrum of feelings from anger, fear, and shame to jealousy, grief, joy, and more, you’ll discover how to work with your own and others’ emotions with fluency and expertise.

The Art of Empathy: A Complete Guide to Life's Most Essential Skill 

Through the original model of the six essential aspects of empathy, you'll learn how to understand empathy clearly, how to pinpoint your strengths and address your challenges, and how to support robust and healthy empathy in yourself and others.

Embracing Anxiety: How to Access the Genius of This Vital Emotion

Most of us have been taught to treat anxiety as a sign of weakness or trouble. Some people even talk about anxiety as an epidemic, as if it’s a serious disease that’s also contagious. This is a shame, because anxiety has an important job to do: it helps you look ahead, organize yourself, and gather the energy you need to get things done.

Your anxiety helps you identify problems and opportunities, and it brings you the energy and focus you need to face them. Yes, you need skills to work well with your anxiety, but your anxiety is a valuable and brilliant emotion that’s essential to pretty much everything you do.

The Power of Emotions at Work: Accessing the Vital Intelligence in Your Workplace

We’ve all been taught that “being professional” means suppressing our honest emotions while we’re on the clock — but research shows that this actually leads to a loss in productivity, diminished creativity, and crushing job dissatisfaction.

The Power of Emotions at Work welcomes the emotions back into the workplace (they were there all along), and teaches all workers how to create respectful, effective, and emotionally well-regulated environments where everyone can get their best work done.

The Dynamic Emotional Integration Workbook

Each of your emotions contains a specific form of genius that you can learn to access with Dynamic Emotional Integration® (also known as DEI). This 88-page workbook helps you explore your 17 essential emotions and the skills and practices that will help you understand and work with each one of them brilliantly.

You can learn on your own, or work with the guidance and support of a licensed Dynamic Emotional Integration® professional.

Find a Licensed DEI Professsional


Note for readers of Karla's previous work: In 2003, Karla McLaren made a sea change in her work, and left her previous spiritual and metaphysical beliefs behind. Her current work (and DEI) is focused on emotions, empathy, sociology, anthropology, neurology, and the neurodiversity paradigm. If you would like to learn more, Missing the Solstice chronicles her transition, while KarlaMcLaren.com focuses on her current work.

Thank you for your interest in bringing more emotional awareness and healthy empathy to our waiting world.

All works © Emotion Dynamics Inc. All rights reserved.