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“Berätta ingenting för mig, för jag orkar inte bry mig om något just nu” En kvalitativ studie om socionomers upplevelser och hantering av empatitrötthet

Gasanin, Aida LU and Lundin, Nelly Christina LU (2025) SOPB63 20251
School of Social Work
Abstract
This study investigates how social workers in human service professions experience and manage compassion fatigue. The focus is on factors that contribute to mental and physical exhaustion, as well as the strategies social workers use to prevent and manage these. The study was based on a qualitative methodological approach, where data collection was based on six semi-structured interviews with qualified social workers from different professional fields. All respondents agreed that they had experienced some form of compassion fatigue through work. As a result, recovery strategies are crucial for managing emotional strain and should therefore be implemented in social work to maintain a sustainable work situation and good health. The results... (More)
This study investigates how social workers in human service professions experience and manage compassion fatigue. The focus is on factors that contribute to mental and physical exhaustion, as well as the strategies social workers use to prevent and manage these. The study was based on a qualitative methodological approach, where data collection was based on six semi-structured interviews with qualified social workers from different professional fields. All respondents agreed that they had experienced some form of compassion fatigue through work. As a result, recovery strategies are crucial for managing emotional strain and should therefore be implemented in social work to maintain a sustainable work situation and good health. The results indicate that social workers are constantly torn between a commitment to wanting to make a difference and the increased workload, which causes emotional concern to instead turn into emotional dissonance, which ultimately results in compassion fatigue. The conclusion emphasizes that compassion fatigue can partly be understood as a structural problem, as the study identifies a lack of organizational resources and leadership in combination with limited knowledge of the individual’s ability to manage emotions. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Gasanin, Aida LU and Lundin, Nelly Christina LU
supervisor
organization
course
SOPB63 20251
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
compassion fatigue, social work, stress, burnout
language
Swedish
id
9198444
date added to LUP
2025-06-13 12:54:00
date last changed
2025-06-13 12:54:00
@misc{9198444,
  abstract     = {{This study investigates how social workers in human service professions experience and manage compassion fatigue. The focus is on factors that contribute to mental and physical exhaustion, as well as the strategies social workers use to prevent and manage these. The study was based on a qualitative methodological approach, where data collection was based on six semi-structured interviews with qualified social workers from different professional fields. All respondents agreed that they had experienced some form of compassion fatigue through work. As a result, recovery strategies are crucial for managing emotional strain and should therefore be implemented in social work to maintain a sustainable work situation and good health. The results indicate that social workers are constantly torn between a commitment to wanting to make a difference and the increased workload, which causes emotional concern to instead turn into emotional dissonance, which ultimately results in compassion fatigue. The conclusion emphasizes that compassion fatigue can partly be understood as a structural problem, as the study identifies a lack of organizational resources and leadership in combination with limited knowledge of the individual’s ability to manage emotions.}},
  author       = {{Gasanin, Aida and Lundin, Nelly Christina}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{“Berätta ingenting för mig, för jag orkar inte bry mig om något just nu” En kvalitativ studie om socionomers upplevelser och hantering av empatitrötthet}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}