Exploring Social Workers' Conceptualizations of Compassion through Thematic Network Analysis

Background/Purpose: Social work scholarship exploring compassion is burgeoning and has established compassion as a central tenant of social work practice (Clark et al., 2023). Compassion stems from the Latin words com and pati, means to suffer with and is characterized by noticing and connecting with the suffering of others (Gilbert, 2015). As social workers have close proximity to vast experiences of suffering (Tanner, 2020), compassion may play a central role in providing meaningful care. However, evidence regarding how social workers conceptualize and implement compassion is rare. Thus, this study asked, “How do social workers operationalize compassion in their social work practice?”

Method: 12 social workers residing in two Midwestern states participated in semi-structured interviews. Participants included 9 women and 3 men, who identified their race as Black (n = 2), Mexican-American (n = 1), and White (n = 9). Participants were working in diverse professional settings (e.g., child welfare, community mental health, advocacy, and policy) and across levels of practice (e.g., providing services directly to clients, supervising social workers, and executive level administration). Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were uploaded to Dedoose, where they were coded. A thematic network analysis (Attride-Stirling, 2001) was conducted. Analysis occurred in a multi-step, inductive fashion. First, coding occurred following multiple read throughs. Codes were applied in a line-by-line fashion. Second, codes were grouped into categories. Finally, a thematic network was developed to describe the relationships between and across categories. Rigor and trustworthiness (Padgett, 2016) were enhanced through reflexive memoing, member checking and peer debriefing.

Results: The results from this thematic network analysis generated one global theme, three organizing themes, and nine basic themes. The global theme was identified as: “Social workers operationalize compassion as crystalized by internal experiences and expressed actions.” There were three organizing themes that were complimented by basic themes. For example, the organizing theme of “compassion begins with identifying suffering” involved the basic themes of mindfulness and empathy. The next organizing theme was “compassion inspires a desire to alleviate suffering,” with the basic codes describing honoring agency, seeking social justice, and peace and bravery. The final organizing theme was “compassion involves the use of characteristics that foster a deep sense of connection with others” and included the basic themes of engagement and connection.

Implications: This study offers a contribution to social work scholarship by describing how compassion is operationalized by social workers. Participants described compassion as a multi-faceted, experience that originates from understanding suffering, alleviating suffering, and building connections. Consistent with the purpose of thematic networks, we’ve constructed this network to explore the complexity of compassion within the social work discipline. The thematic network in our study is not a tool to reconcile conflicting definitions of compassion (Attride-Stirling, 2001). Developing an understanding of how to help build compassion in social workers is essential. More research is needed to understand how compassion is bolstered and impacts outcomes with service recipients in social work settings.