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Emotion as a Skill: A Practical Methodology for Coping with Emotional Risks in Social Work.

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Title: Emotion as a Skill: A Practical Methodology for Coping with Emotional Risks in Social Work.
Authors: Lai, Jinhui, Wang, Yuan, Qi, Caiyun
Source: Social Work. Apr2026, Vol. 71 Issue 2, p139-147. 9p.
Subjects: Risk assessment, Empathy, Professional practice, Social workers, Qualitative research, Social services, Interviewing, Psychological adaptation, Emotions, Social worker attitudes, Judgment sampling, Descriptive statistics, Work experience (Employment), Reflection (Philosophy), Self-talk, Nonverbal communication, Research methodology, Physician practice patterns, Body language, Social networks, Social support, Professional competence, Facial expression, Hope
Abstract: Emotional risks are ubiquitous in social work practice and pose significant threats to the health and well-being of practitioners and clients. Emotional skills are recognized as the best practice approach for coping with these risks. However, existing research on emotional skills is almost all from the fields of medicine, education, and psychology, and little attention is paid to it in the social work literature. To address this gap, the study explored Chinese social workers' experiences and perceptions of using emotional skills in practice through semistructured interviews (N = 28). The study suggests that emotion can be used as a practical skill for social workers, who have developed two patterns of practice for emotional skills: "self-directed" emotion management and "other-directed" emotion management. In the practice of coping with emotional risk in oneself and others, social workers navigated three stages of identification, understanding, and management and employed relevant professional skills (such as body scanning, empathy, and communicating emotions to others). The study results are pragmatic, and the action plan model of emotional skills has significant implications for social work practice and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Social Work is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Emotion as a Skill: A Practical Methodology for Coping with Emotional Risks in Social Work.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lai%2C+Jinhui%22">Lai, Jinhui</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wang%2C+Yuan%22">Wang, Yuan</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Qi%2C+Caiyun%22">Qi, Caiyun</searchLink>
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  Data: Emotional risks are ubiquitous in social work practice and pose significant threats to the health and well-being of practitioners and clients. Emotional skills are recognized as the best practice approach for coping with these risks. However, existing research on emotional skills is almost all from the fields of medicine, education, and psychology, and little attention is paid to it in the social work literature. To address this gap, the study explored Chinese social workers' experiences and perceptions of using emotional skills in practice through semistructured interviews (N = 28). The study suggests that emotion can be used as a practical skill for social workers, who have developed two patterns of practice for emotional skills: "self-directed" emotion management and "other-directed" emotion management. In the practice of coping with emotional risk in oneself and others, social workers navigated three stages of identification, understanding, and management and employed relevant professional skills (such as body scanning, empathy, and communicating emotions to others). The study results are pragmatic, and the action plan model of emotional skills has significant implications for social work practice and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Social Work is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=192479713
RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1093/sw/swag005
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 9
        StartPage: 139
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Risk assessment
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Empathy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Professional practice
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social workers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Qualitative research
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social services
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Interviewing
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Psychological adaptation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Emotions
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social worker attitudes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Judgment sampling
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Descriptive statistics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Work experience (Employment)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Reflection (Philosophy)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Self-talk
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Nonverbal communication
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research methodology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Physician practice patterns
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Body language
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social networks
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social support
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Professional competence
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Facial expression
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Hope
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Emotion as a Skill: A Practical Methodology for Coping with Emotional Risks in Social Work.
        Type: main
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            NameFull: Lai, Jinhui
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            NameFull: Wang, Yuan
      – PersonEntity:
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            NameFull: Qi, Caiyun
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            – D: 01
              M: 04
              Text: Apr2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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            – TitleFull: Social Work
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