När empatin tar stryk - en kvalitativ studie om kuratorers upplevelser av empatitrötthet

Sammanfattning: The aim of this study was to do qualitative research into how social workers experience and talk about compassion fatigue and how to possibly prevent it. The hope was to expand my knowledge about how compassion fatigue manifests in social workers everyday practice and life. In this study I interviewed 6 social workers about their experiences and thoughts about compassion fatigue. The interviews were semi-structured and followed an interview guide. To analyze my material I used the theoretical perspective of alliance, stress and healthcare organizations. The result of this study shows how compassion fatigue has a negative impact on social workers quality of life and work effort and that stress is a common cause of compassion fatigue. The study also shows experience and compassion satisfaction as preventive factors to compassion fatigue. The study emphasize the possibility of how the use of the concept of compassion fatigue may make a difference in the process of preventing compassion fatigue.