Abstract
Social workers often experience higher levels of burnout compared with other healthcare professionals. The capacity to manage one’s own emotional reactions efficiently, frequently in complex care settings, is central to the role of social workers. This article highlights the complexity of emotions in social work research and practice by exploring the perspective of emotional intelligence. The article is both theoretical and empirical, based on reflections from a qualitative longitudinal study interviewing fathers with behavioural and criminal backgrounds, all in their 40 s. The analysis contains an exploration of the researcher position that illuminates the reflective, emotional aspects that took place within this interview process. Three overall themes emerged – first: Recognising emotional complexity; second: Reflecting on emotional themes; and third: Exploring my own prejudices and preconceptions. The findings apply to both theoretical and practical social work, addressing the need to understand emotions as a central part of critical reflection and reflexivity. The argument is that emotions have the potential to expand awareness of one’s own preconceptions, related to normative societal views. This form of analytical awareness entails identifying and paying attention to one’s own, sometimes embodied, emotional triggers.
Introduction
Social workers often experience higher levels of burnout than other healthcare professionals, making it important to understand how they can adapt to protect themselves from psychological distress (Bunce et al., 2019). The capacity to manage one’s own emotional reactions effectively in complex care settings is central to the role of social workers. However, there is evidence that social work students and, especially, newly educated professionals, often find their assignments emotionally demanding and stressful (Grant et al., 2014).
Emotions influence social workers in various ways in their everyday practice. Social workers are continually exposed to the tough conditions of clients’ lives, which are often the fallout of oppressive structures in our society (Barlow and Hall, 2007). It can be difficult to distinguish emotions such as empathy, compassion, identification, discomfort, anxiousness, and annoyance/indignance and handle them effectively at work. However, emotions are valuable as they often represent both conscious and unconscious views that may affect practice. The argument presented here is that emotions can potentially expand awareness of one’s own preconceptions related to normative cultural understandings. This form of analytical awareness entails identifying and observing one’s own, sometimes embodied, emotional triggers, such as anxiousness or empathy when dealing with clients. This article highlights the complexity of emotions by exploring emotional intelligence in relation to research and practice. The relevance and importance of emotions to organisational life has also only quite recently been fully acknowledged, as they were generally considered to be incompatible with rational thought (Grant et al., 2014). The topic of emotions, however, is vast and spans different disciplines (Ford and Gross, 2019). Even though the centrality of emotions in social work goes back several decades, following the work of Biestek (1950), Hollis (1949); Horney (1934), and Rogers and Farson (1957), further exploration of emotions is needed. Commenting on the battlefield of human emotions and relations, Horney (1934) suggested “letting my own emotional reactions come into play”. This article more or less follows this path, although in a contemporary debate concerning emotions in social work.
Emotions are fundamental to human experience; they have numerous purposes and functions, from alerting people to danger to helping them build social relationships (Grant et al., 2014). Morrison (2007) has argued that social work needs to identify its claims to professional competence at a time of continuous change and that this requires social workers to handle both their own and others’ emotions wisely (Morrison, 2007). While the literature on stress and social work emphasises the importance of structural and organisational context, less attention has been given to the emotional density of social work practices (Collins, 2007). Social workers often experience tough work conditions, but most remain committed to their work without coming to grips with the emotional load (Evans et al., 2006; Kim, 2011; Ruch, 2012). Research has suggested that emotional intelligence, with its potential relevance for social work practice, is the missing ingredient (Morrison, 2007).
Critical reflection, reflexivity, and emotions
According to Gray and Webb (2012), ‘critical social work’ has a narrow and a broad meaning in social work. Critical social work in a narrow sense designates several generations of key ideas, themes, and commitments that began in a progressive political stance that emerged in the 1970s (Gray and Webb, 2012). In a broader sense, it indicates a much more generic approach concerned with developing ‘best practice’ agendas that can maximise potential for social workers and clients. It draws attention to the value of using criticism as a capacity to contrast, reformulate, or challenge existing practices (Gray and Webb, 2012).
Schön (1984) had a major influence on both narrow and broad critical social work. He distinguishes between reflection in action and reflection on action. The first concept refers to the ability to think about the situation whilst one is engaged with it, and the latter refers to thinking about the situation at a later time (Ingram, 2013). An aim in social work education is to teach students to be reflective practitioners (Oterholm, 2009). For example, the critical reflective model (Fook, 1996, 2015; Fook and Askeland, 2006) involves using a piece of professional practice experience as material to reflect upon with assistance from colleagues. Critical reflection in this sense entails unearthing deeper assumptions about the reflection and this ‘unearthing’ also involves identifying previously unquestioned cultural norms. This brief introduction grounded in Schön (1984) work provides a platform for drawing some useful parallels with emotional intelligence (Ingram, 2013). Fook and Gardner (2007) make explicit reference to the emotional aspects of critical reflection, and Mills and Kleinman (1988) furthermore discuss the concept of reflexivity, which acknowledges that emotions have a role to play in the construction of knowledge and how it is used. Emotions will play a part in determining the choices individuals make when considering their actions (Ingram, 2013).
Affective recognition and sharing are crucial in all helping professions because, as documented in social work literature, the work can lead to emotional and physical burnout (Gerdes and Segal, 2011). Emotional intelligence and empathy have cognitive as well as emotional dimensions. For example, emotions such as empathy are recognised in the brain as an empathetic response to others’ experiences can involuntarily trigger shared neurological reactions (Gerdes and Segal, 2011; Rothschild, 2006).
This is most likely due to the involuntary firing of mirror neurons, ‘brain cells that reflect the activity of another’s brain cells’ (Gerdes and Segal, 2011; Kaplan and Iacoboni, 2006). In infancy, mirror neurons help the human brain to mirror the orofacial and manual gestures of others onto the baby’s own motor system (Kaplan and Iacoboni, 2006). Furthermore, these representations are encoded in or encoded in our neural networks, and, when stimulated, automatically enable us to empathise with or share the feelings of others (Decety and Lamm, 2006; Gerdes and Segal, 2011). Social workers might activate high levels of empathy, comprising the burden of their own and others’ reactions, which can lead to distress and burnout (Nilsson, 2014). It is not that the social worker is experiencing the other person’s feelings, but the brain creates very real sensations in response to that other person’s experience (Rothschild, 2006). Social workers might risk experiencing a client’s feelings of anger, depression, anxiety, or joy as their own feelings, which points to the need for emphasising the emotional aspects as a central part of critical reflection in research on sensitive topics and in practice.
Reflexivity may be understood as a conscious use of one’s own self-awareness to shape meaning about others; it refers to the ways practitioners are affected by their personal processes and emotions (Davies, 2012; Okely and Callaway, 1992). This article examines the reflexive and affective aspects of critical reflection. According to Johnson and Yanca (2001), social work practitioners use themselves as instruments in their meetings with clients. Affective and reflective response are, thus, noteworthy in social work; they are present in everyday practice, and they are important because there is a need to highlight the unspoken inner ‘self-dialogue’ amongst social workers and researchers.
Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence (EI) can be defined as the ability to identify, express, understand, manage, and use emotions sensibly (Ingram, 2013, 2015; Kotsou et al., 2019; Morrison, 2007; Stanley and Mettilda, 2020). It involves both cognitive as well as emotional dimensions. EI has also been defined as ‘Being able to motivate oneself and persist in the face of frustrations; to control impulse and delay gratification; to regulate one’s moods and keep distress from swamping the ability to think; to empathize and to hope’ (Morrison, 2007). There are many situations that can trigger emotions in social work because it involves such dilemmas as trauma, suffering, violence, abuse, different kinds of exposure, and vulnerability (Douglas, 2013; Horwitz, 1998). Given how central emotions and power relationships are to the social work task, and also given the recent growth in EI literature generally, it seems that the discussion about the potential relevance of EI in the field is overdue (Furnham, 2009; Morrison, 2007).
Ingram (2013, 2015) work emphasises that a social worker would need to be able to hear, understand, and manage the perspectives and emotions of a service user in order to be in a position to establish and maintain trust. According to Morrison (2007), interest in and conviction about the relevance of a theory often ‘come alive’ when a connection is made with lived experience, and it would be somewhat incongruent to write a paper on the relevance of EI without individual reflections. To that end, I analyse my own experiences as a researcher, social worker, and educator in social work to discuss emotional aspects of the work as a part of critical reflection in relation to social work research and practice.
Methodology
This article is both theoretical and empirical, based on reflections from a qualitative longitudinal study interviewing fathers with behavioural and criminal backgrounds, all in their 40 s (Helgeland, 2010; Herland, 2017, 2018, 2020; Herland et al., 2015; Herland and Helgeland 2017). The analysis illuminates the reflective, emotional aspects of this interview process, which reminded me of the home visits I had made when working as a child welfare caseworker. Following Chan, Teram, and Shaw (2017), the study touches upon the tensions in research related to sensitive personal issues. This concerns striking a balance between the generation of credible data and the protection of research participants against potential emotional and psychological risks associated with their participation. Even though this article illuminates the research process, I bear in mind the ethical considerations of protecting the interviewees. However, as noted above, from the angle of this article, it would be incongruent to discuss the relevance of EI in critical reflection without including individual reflections. In fact, I believe this will clarify, in a transparent way, the theme of the article. These ethical considerations emphasised were not touched on in the previous study but they have since been found significant so they will be explored in the current article and thus found significant and was accordingly explored.
The study
All 15 fathers interviewed had troubled backgrounds and were part of a larger qualitative longitudinal study, with 85 participants in total, 54 men and 31 women. They were recruited through their participation in a state-initiated child welfare program arranged to investigate alternatives to imprisonment for adolescents who had engaged in various kinds of antisocial behaviour, such as truancy, criminality, prostitution, and drug abuse (Helgeland, 2010). The participants were interviewed at four time points: first at age 14–15 (T1), second at age 20 (T2), third at age 30 (T3), and finally around the age of 40 (T4). The Norwegian Research Ethics Committee approved the study at every time point. I joined the project at T4 as a research PhD fellow. The participants with children were recruited to the present study. They were asked about their lives since the last interview, and about their experiences as parents, following an interview guide. Most interviews were conducted in the participants’ homes, and a few took place at a café or workplace. Each interview lasted approximately two hours. They were tape-recorded and transcribed shortly afterwards, and later were translated from Norwegian to English.
Analytical strategies
The analysis in this article involves discussing my own process – namely meeting with the fathers and then investigating the researcher’s (my own) emotional processing. This includes reactions that were quite difficult to understand when they occurred, not to mention challenging to manage and sometimes even problematic to accept for me as social worker in the course of studying a group of men about their experiences as fathers. Reflecting on my feelings and reflections, analysing how I reacted emotionally, and above all, being conscious around these emotional aspects, I was able to explore what my preconceptions were telling me. The analysis can be related to the journey newly graduated practitioners working in the field may experience, for example, during home visits. It is the cross-over experience from research to practice that is made relevant in this article.
The analytical exploration is based on the idea that critical reflection (Gray and Webb, 2012; Schön, 1984) involves the identification of deep-seated assumptions and emotions that can be triggered by discursive categorisation regarding culture, gender, and class, which brought out the analytical questions in this study. The following presentation contains a new analysis of the data, which opened new insight about the complexity of emotions – whereas emotions may seem straightforward, they in fact merit thorough analytical investigation. At an individual level, however, practitioners typically lack the time required for personal reflection and analysis at work.
Findings
The findings in this article involve reflections around three analytical themes: first, Recognising emotional complexity; second, Reflecting on emotional themes; and third, Exploring my own prejudices and preconceptions. For all time spans (T1–T4), the data collected included interviews, register data, and criminal records, which are all part of the analytical process and findings presented. I read the pre-existing data while preparing for the interviews, which unquestionably affected my presumptions about the group. Most interviewees reported growing up under difficult conditions (Helgeland, 2010). As a practitioner working in child welfare, I had visited fathers with troubled backgrounds and talked to them in their homes about serious concerns regarding their children; that, too, must have influenced my ideas about this group. However, at that time I was not consciously reflecting on it. I learned in retrospect that I was unwittingly being a judgmental researcher and social worker. I tried to be as open as possible and not prejudge these fathers; however, my gut feelings were making this difficult. I felt nervous about going to their homes, although I tried to hide this, primarily from myself. I must admit, I did not handle my emotions as neatly as I would have hoped. It was quite difficult to manage my own emotions, as well as those (e.g., anger, sadness) of the men. Being emotionally intelligent, I learned, is challenging.
Recognising emotional complexity
As noted, most interviewees in the PhD project had reported growing up under difficult conditions. When the first interview appointments were made, I was pleased, knowing that the research project was in progress. At the same time, I started to feel anxious. I was eager to get started with the data collection, and the nervousness felt odd. I recollected having had similar feelings in the past when visiting male clients at home in my capacity as a social worker at a child welfare office. I had also done qualitative interviews with adoptive parents in an earlier project but had not felt the same concern about interviewing men alone in their homes on those occasions.
In anticipating the interview meetings, I remember wondering whether men who had had behavioural problems as adolescents could be decent fathers. Would these men be good role models, given their criminal backgrounds? Might it be dangerous for me, as a female researcher, to interview them alone in their homes? Classifying people as ‘dangerous’ might awaken emotions such as fear or anxiety; however, according to Dickson-Swift et al. (2009), these feelings are rarely reported. With regard to practice, this calls for critical reflection on emotions; however, these are sometimes difficult to identify and often challenging to acknowledge.
My nervousness about the prospect of interviewing these men made me recognise that I was being quite critical and clearly devaluing them up front. As the analysis progressed, I remember looking back and feeling ashamed for being so critical as a researcher and as a social worker. I was primarily struggling with an unfamiliar tension, neither really identifying the emotions nor fully understanding what they were. The male participants in the project were all different yet going to their homes alone gave rise to the same bodily sensations, which I only later recognised and identified (Herland, 2017). I found myself conflicted, caught up with disturbing feelings, which I did not have the right tools to manage, mostly because I was not willing to admit to being anxious or judgmental.
In retrospect, I realise that my feelings about the men as fathers were dominated by cultural perceptions, including fatherhood discourses. In addition, I had expected to encounter some fathers who failed to meet these criteria. While working in child welfare, I had probably judged fathers similarly because I did not grasp the emotions that were being activated in myself. Through subsequent reflections, I realised that I was not exploring or handling these emotions wisely; as a social worker, I would most likely not have been able to display emotional intelligence by identifying, expressing, understanding, managing, and using emotions wisely (Kotsou et al., 2019).
One of the men, Lars, was brought up in a dysfunctional home where he had been neglected and physically and mentally abused by his parents. His mother drank heavily, and his father was violent. Lars lived in several orphanages and foster homes before eventually moving into a residential home at the age of 15. When interviewed at the age of 40, Lars was not married but had a girlfriend living with him in a cottage in the woods. He had one daughter from an earlier relationship. When recalling his childhood home and his relationship with his parents, he said harshly, “There were no boundaries, no control and no love.” I had been nervous about meeting him because of his history, and while I felt very sorry for him, I felt tense in his presence because he was so angry. His description of life with his parents evoked sadness but also bitterness and resentment; his life might have been better, he said, if he had received help earlier on: Living with my parents, you mean? Well, if you had a psychopath as a father and then you have a mother who drank and was a shallow whore, well that was my life at home … we [his brother and he] both should have been living in foster homes from that moment on, because then it might have worked out well for the both of us.
Looking back, I was not able to motivate myself and persist in the face of frustration (Morrison, 2007). I do not think I controlled my impulses, regulated my frame of mind, and kept this distress from overwhelming my ability to think clearly (Goleman, 1996). This has made me realise how difficult it is to be emotionally intelligent as a critical practitioner. Perhaps it develops with longer work experience, as emotional awareness deepens (Furnham, 2009) and one becomes more in touch with one’s own feelings and trigger points.
Another father, Erik, was living with his wife and three children. He had been abusing pills for many years, had several criminal convictions due to his violent behaviour, and had recently started taking methadone regularly. Erik had been married to the same supportive woman for 20 years. Despite his criminal behaviour and drug abuse, he had lived with his family and maintained work to provide for them throughout this time, albeit with extensive support from his wife: I was sick, and it got really bad. I had a bad temper … And she [the wife] does not tolerate any kind of drug. She is very clear about that. So, then we clash… It is not like that [hitting], even though it has happened, but it is not like that. But my kids, they had a really hard time, and they had a bad experience … others might not see me being influenced by drugs, but she does; she is very loyal towards our kids. She would not accept anything, and so after that, everything went through the child welfare services. It was like – either me or the kids for her.
During the analytical process, I read and reread the transcripts and also went back to the tapes to get the participants’ tone of voice. It was also thought-provoking to read the memos written after each interview. These reflections at the various stages of the analysis were key to investigating the influence of emotion.
Had I worked thoroughly around the same issues before meeting fathers as a social worker, what would these reflections have entailed? What if I had taken the time to be open, describing my initial feelings and impressions concerning clients and then critically reflecting on them? Since then, I have expanded my knowledge regarding normative views on gender/masculinity, class, and fatherhood that were ‘activated’ through my emotions.
I realise in retrospect that my thoughts and feelings about the men as fathers were probably affected by the dominant cultural perceptions of fatherhood. The men’s failure to meet these criteria triggered emotions in me, including annoyance and irritation. Several studies show that expectations for fathers have changed over the last century, with the traditional idea of men as distant breadwinners giving way to more recent notions of fathers as equal, nurturing, emotional, and committed parents (Halford, 2006; Lupton and Barclay, 1997; Shirani et al., 2012). I probably expected to encounter some fathers who were failing to meet these criteria at the time of our interview. The background information I had about them gave rise to emotions within me; I was being negative and had probably judged fathers similarly as a child welfare worker. More precisely, reflecting on these emotions in retrospect, I remember feeling frustrated when fathers were not that engaged with their children. I also felt a little afraid meeting men who I knew had been to jail. When they expressed anger, I did not consider what was behind it or investigate the complexities of their lives to understand what their anger was expressing; I simply did not like it. For example, it did not occur to me that their temper might be a sign of frustration or sadness because of their situation. I have since wondered whether most social workers manage to grasp their clients’ mixed emotions, or if they struggle as I did.
Reflecting on emotional themes
The emotions described in the previous section were thus not only a reflection of how I, as a researcher and a social worker, reacted on a personal level, but also the basis for a discussion around reflective practice that entails reflecting on emotional themes and the relevance of theory ‘coming alive’ in connection with lived emotional experience in certain situations.
Looking back, I acknowledge that my position as a researcher was challenged when I was faced with such conflicting emotions. When I first realised this, I felt insecure. I was concerned that this might also compromise my professionalism. At the same time, however, the realisation started the self-reflexive process that has since intrigued me with regard to my identity as a social worker and as a researcher.
My emotions created the opportunity to reflect on my preconceptions. I became aware of how my own background as a mother raising children together with an involved co-parent – and someone who grew up having an involved and caring father figure – influenced me on different levels.
Physically, the tension made my heart race a bit and my palms sweaty. I had difficulty regulating my disposition and keeping my distress from swamping my ability to think clearly (Morrison, 2007). Emotions occur quite often as part of everyday life, and it is easy to neglect our reactions to them. What I found interesting in retrospect was that I did not have the same responses where mothers were concerned. Interviewing the women did not cause these conflicting emotions, and I realised that this was that this was a gender issue. I had different expectations regarding the women as mothers than I did regarding the men as fathers.
Simon, the father of an eight-year-old daughter, told me that he had been contacted and evaluated by the child welfare service even before his daughter was born. His family history in the local community had had an impact on how they thought his child would be cared for. This has made me think that being critically reflective as a social worker requires emotional intelligence, namely being able to address one’s own preconceptions and acknowledge one’s own thoughts and emotions. Simon said he felt he was being treated unfairly. I felt sad for him, but when I sat down with him for the interview, I became suspicious: was there something to these accusations? What were these feelings I was having? This is how he explained his situation: So the public nurse said that we should have assistance from the child welfare service before the child was born. We needed a special person there we could contact. But I said, excuse me [raising his voice], let me have my daughter first before you push us into something.
Professionals will most likely recognise my reactions. From a moral point of view, what professionals consider ‘appropriate care’ is influenced by cultural discourse and ideals. One’s own embodied experiences of receiving care as a child (Harkness and Super, 2002; Kotsou et al., 2019) are also influential. Throughout the different stages of the reflexive process, I was quite humbled by these fathers’ stories. They made me think about the complexity in social work practices touching upon such existential challenges.
I was making these men responsible for the preconceptions I brought to the interviews, neither recognising the discursive structures at play nor acknowledging their individuality. What I acknowledged in my later reflections was that these fathers represented a different class, with fewer economic and social resources than I had and a different starting point in life. Analysing the interview material again, I think treating my feelings as data helped me uncover discursive dimensions that might have been missed. Emotions can play a central role in deconstructing discourses around gender and class if we recognise the emotional components of both research and practice.
Exploring my own prejudices and preconceptions
Being open about one’s own prejudices takes courage and a willingness to explore one’s own limitations. Although the bodily sensation I experienced at the prospect of interviewing these men made me hesitate, I did not really investigate it at first.
The interviewees had already been categorised, for example as ‘adolescents with severe adjustment problems’, ‘child welfare clients’, ‘criminals’, or ‘drug abusers’. Moreover, I had read earlier interviews containing disturbing information: 21 participants from the original sample of 85 in the longitudinal study had died of various causes, including overdose and suicide, and 18 of these were men (at T4). This probably reinforced my prejudice. Child welfare case workers also read case files that sometimes contain background information that most likely affects their preconceptions. Are they able to identify these thoughts? What about when the thoughts are not conscious but embodied, such as a peculiar feeling that is triggered? I wonder, are emotions then recognised in anticipating clients’ needs? Perhaps not. At the very least, this is a question to discuss in terms of reflecting critically about emotions. The following story shared by one of the fathers, Henry, illustrates the point: My son was disappointed because he confronted me about the drug use. He had figured it out. He had called me, like he often does, and I told him I would call him right back. I always take the time to talk to him when he calls, but this time I did not. It was like that for a couple of weeks.
Discussion
EI refers to a person’s ability to understand how emotions work, and to recognise and manage emotions in themselves and others (Biggart et al., 2016; Morrison, 2007). The empirical analysis in this article, however, has illustrated that the emotional aspect in social work research and practice could be quite intricate.
Social workers often experience high levels of stress and burnout, but most remain committed to their work without fully recognising its emotional toll (Evans et al., 2006; Kim, 2011; Ruch, 2012). EI may help professionals in emotionally demanding jobs (Biggart et al., 2016), making it easier for social workers to manage their anxiety and stress. Emotions remain an understudied topic in social work ( Grant et al., 2014; Ruch, 2012; Stanley and Mettilda, 2020).
Emotions can be evoked through discourses that dominate different contexts, which are recognised by practitioners and inextricably linked with their ongoing meaning-making (Hollway, 2008; Thomson et al., 2012). Treating emotions as valuable information and as a central part of a reflexive work can contribute to practitioners’ (and researchers’) analytical awareness, which may in turn help prevent hidden discriminatory practices.
When it comes to social work, the time aspect, the hectic environment, and the workload can all hinder professionals’ ability to reflect on emotional triggers. It can furthermore be quite challenging to identify these ‘emotional states’ and work around the distress that can be caused by facing complex situations, and to think clearly when making difficult decisions (Morrison, 2007). Regardless of the emotion’s social workers experience, it is valuable to investigate them and to reflect on why and how these reactions impact their work. This awareness can prevent concealed prejudices against clients and reduce discriminatory practices. This may be more likely in research projects, which allow time to analyse the data and to explore the personal feelings shaping the data. It may be more complicated in practice, but highly valuable, nevertheless.
Some emotions, such as anger, often cover up other emotions, such as fear (Ax, 1953), which can make it tricky to recognize the real emotion and respond effectively. For example, a client who seems angry might really be afraid and should be encountered accordingly. Analytical awareness (including EI) regarding one’s own and others’ emotions involves paying attention to clients and interpreting their words and behaviour in addition to understanding and managing one’s own feelings. In other words; social work professionals must be emotionally intelligent (Bunce et al., 2019).
Being emotionally intelligent will most certainly help in maintaining professional competence over time, which could, in turn, prevent burnout (Biggart et al., 2016). Consciously addressing the emotional aspect of this work opens the possibility of controlling stress and reactions by allowing professionals to recognise emotional stress and seek guidance or help accordingly. Is this being emotionally intelligent? Or is it perhaps being emotionally conscious? Is this solely an individual responsibility or is there some responsibility at a system level?
Implications for child welfare services at the system level
Literature on workloads and pressure in social work emphasises the importance of structural and organisational anchoring (Kotsou et al., 2019). Ruch (2012) has argued that this is a matter of good leadership, which unfortunately is not often prioritised. On an individual level, EI requires, as noted, the capacity to handle both one’s own and others’ emotions wisely (Morrison, 2007); however, this individual strategy still requires leadership that provides the necessary time and guidance to professionals.
Some research has suggested that EI, despite its potential relevance for social work practice, is still missing in the field (Kotsou et al., 2019; Morrison, 2007; Stanley and Mettilda, 2020). A lot has been written about emotions and reflective practices in social work (Fook, 1996; Fook and Askeland, 2006; Horney, 1934; Rogers and Farson, 1957; Ruch, 2005), though, without perhaps fully comprising the aspect of emotions, which ought to be acknowledged at an organisational level as well as in education.
Given the complexity of emotions, the emotional dilemmas encountered in practice ought to be addressed systematically as a part of the obligatory debriefing or counselling within organisations; this is especially important in the child welfare services because of the delicate nature of the work, which often triggers emotions in both clients and professionals, as well as in researchers within this field. Revealing inner thoughts related to casework (Hollis, 1949; Horney, 1934) and preconceptions about clients calls for humility and insight developed through professional practice. Good relational guidance is necessary to help clients feel understood and empowered (Ruch, 2012) and should be prioritised when using ‘oneself as a tool’ when meeting the clients (Johnson and Yanca, 2001).
Critiquing emotional intelligence
This article explores the concept of EI in keeping with Clarke et al. (2016), it acknowledges that EI has some critics. EI is an intricate concept/science that is evolving in various disciplines, including neuroscience, biology, and psychotherapy (Clarke et al., 2016), and several researchers have emphasised its potential for social work (Biggart et al., 2016; Stanley and Mettilda, 2020). Critics of the concept, however, note the use of different language and different definitions for both the terms ‘emotional’ and ‘intelligence’, and the measurable effects of applying the ideas are still to be evidenced (Matthews et al., 2004). However, there is sufficient interest and belief in its potential (Biggart et al., 2016; Clarke et al., 2016). With empirical content, and an analysis of emotions, this article has attempted to highlight the intricacies of EI and its relevance for the field of child welfare social work.
While the idea of being ‘emotionally intelligent’, being able to handle both one’s own emotions and those of others wisely, sounds nice, EI is quite demanding. This is especially true considering the workload in many organisations, where professionals have little time to reflect critically on emotions – despite the importance of such reflection in research, education, and practice.
Footnotes
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Professor Inger Oterholm for a valuable dialogue regarding this article.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
