Empathy in Social work: How do social workers experience empathy within their day-to-day practice? A visual, interpretative phenomenological analysis.

This thesis presents research exploring social workers’ diverse experiences of empathy in their practice with children and families. Informed by a constructivist ontology, the research combines interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA, Smith, Flowers & Larkin, 2022) with a visual research method (Rose, 2016) to explore participants’ perceptions and experiences of empathy within their practice. Semi-structured interviews were completed with seventeen participants, representing three distinct cohorts of social work practitioners at different stages in their careers. All participants worked within two English local authority children’s services departments.
. The research design is shaped by my experience as a children’s social worker and therapist, and in particular, draws influence from my practice as a play therapist and the use of symbols to represent aspects of experience. I also acknowledge my commitment to an interpretivist, and social constructionist epistemology in relation to knowledge creation, and my belief that by using these approaches, I can engage deeply with the subject of the research.
I begin with a literature review in two parts. Firstly, an overview of key theoretical contributions from 4 distinct disciplines – philosophy, psychology, psychotherapy, and social work – which inform my understanding and approach to defining empathy as concept. Secondly, a thematic synthesis (Thomas & Harden, 2008) of qualitative research which explores the use of empathy within social work practice with children and families. Within the synthesis, I reveal a number of relevant findings including the nature of empathic experience for social workers; the challenges of maintaining empathy within social work practice; and organisational aspects that impact empathic practice.
In keeping with my chosen methodology, my thesis also provides a reflective account of how pre-existing knowledge and beliefs have shaped my interest in the subject of empathy and presents my understanding of key philosophical contributions from interpretative phenomenology that have supported my research activity and analysis.
The thesis seeks to make a unique contribution to knowledge through my focus on the lived experience of practitioners at different stages of their career development and to highlight potential learning which may be relevant for other groups of practitioners.
My findings suggest that participants’ practices are shaped by three different elements, including the role of embodied empathy, and managing felt emotions within social work; balancing empathy and authority within statutory social work practice; and the impact of empathic environments and leadership to sustain empathic practitioners. From my analysis, I propose a model of ‘balanced empathy’ in social work with children and families and highlight implications for social work practice. These include addressing the emotional dimension of practice within social work education and training; embedding discourse on emotion and empathy within formal and informal support structures, and within the professional discourse and practice standards; identifying models of empathic leadership and organisational climate that can help to sustain empathic social work practice.