Professionell hantering av det emotionella mötet : En kvalitativ studie om det emotionella lönearbetet hos kuratorer på barn- och ungdomspsykiatrin

Sammanfattning: Working with children who suffer from mental illness requires skills of objectivity and professionalism and the ability to handle patients’ as well as one’s own feelings. How the counsellors manage their emotions affects both their own wellbeing and the quality of the treatment they provide. Since the mental illness in society is increasing, the challenge to address the mental illness becomes even more difficult and the importance of the counsellor’s wellbeing and competence grows. Therefore, this study aimed to examine how counsellors experience the encounters with patients and how they handle the emotions that arise. Based on Hochschilds theory of emotional labour and semi-structured interviews with six counsellors working in five different units in Stockholm the study has shown that the counsellors can experience a variation of different emotions. The counsellors worked with these emotions by changing, hiding, or showing them physically or verbally, all depending on what impact it may have on the therapeutic alliance. Additionally, strategies such as sharing feelings with colleagues, distract oneself from work-related conversations and time for reflection has been identified. Further research suggests bringing more focus to the organizational context and the emotional work towards colleagues.