"You can not be a robot" : How social workers manage the emotional strain of social work.

Social work involves working intimately with clients who are or have previously found themselves in difficult life situations. The intimate work with clients is one of the reasons why the social work is considered emotionally demanding. The aim of the study is to highlight how social workers are influenced by clients emotions, as well as increase the understanding of how social workers can manage the emotional strain that an intimate work with clients can cause. Based on a qualitative research effort and qualitative interviews with seven social workers from “individual and family welfare” in the southeast of Sweden. When analysing the empirical data, three main themes emerged: the emotional work of social workers, management of emotions during the interaction with clients and strategies for managing emotional strain. Goffman´s theory of dramaturgy as well as Lazarus and Folkman´s theory of coping strategies are used to create an understanding of the research problem. Results of the study show that collegial support was deemed to be a common strategy as well as the most significant for managing emotional strain