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.

与其他医疗保健专业人员相比，社会工作者的倦怠程度通常更高。经常在复杂的护理环境中有效管理自己的情绪反应的能力是社会工作者角色的核心。本文通过探讨情商的视角，突出了社会工作研究和实践中情绪的复杂性。这篇文章既是理论性的又是实证性的，基于对 40 多岁有行为和犯罪背景的父亲进行的一项定性纵向研究的反思。该分析包含对研究人员职位的探索，阐明了在此采访过程中发生的反思和情感方面。出现了三个总体主题——第一：认识情感的复杂性；第二：反思情感主题；第三：探索我自己的偏见和成见。研究结果适用于理论和实践社会工作，解决了将情绪理解为批判性反思和反思的核心部分的需要。论点是情绪有可能扩大对自己与规范社会观点相关的先入之见的认识。这种形式的分析意识需要识别并关注自己的，有时是具体化的情绪触发因素。