Doing Emotionally Demanding Research: A Dual Perspective of Supervisor and Researcher

Doing Emotionally Demanding Research: A Dual Perspective of Supervisor and Researcher

Date: 3 July 2025
Time: 11:00–12:00
Speakers: Dr Juliane Kloess and Dr Amy Burrell

This readout summarises the key insights shared in the first NABS+ Seminar session on Emotionally Demanding Research. The session explored the personal and professional impact of engaging with sensitive topics, offering guidance and practical strategies to support researchers throughout the process.

Defining Emotionally Demanding Research

The session opened with a shared definition:

… research that demands a tremendous amount of mental, emotional, or physical energy and potentially affects or depletes the researcher’s health or well-being.
(Kumar & Cavallaro, 2018).

Emotionally demanding topics often involve exposure to human suffering. While this is commonly associated with fields related to crime and health, the emotional toll may also arise unexpectedly. This effect can develop as researchers are exposed to different, and unpredictable, ‘layers’ of human suffering both in their work and home lives. 

How the Brain Responds

The speakers addressed the workings of memory and what happens after exposure to emotionally demanding material. Sensory inputs create sensory memories which correspond with the coding and storage of short-, and, long-term memory. Our bodies are designed to react to short-term stresses, through the production of adrenaline and cortisol, to enable us to escape immediate danger. If cortisol levels remain high for too long this can interfere with the brain’s ability to effectively code and store new memories, which can lead to mental health difficulties.

A useful analogy that was offered was that of a filing cabinet: if memories are not processed and ‘filed correctly’ they may resurface in unhelpful ways, such as flashbacks or intrusive thoughts and imagery.

Two main mental health difficulties are associated with emotionally demanding work:

1) Secondary traumatic stress – this has emotional, physical, behavioural, and cognitive impacts.

2) Negative worldview – this may lead to changes in beliefs and values, relationship difficulties, and feelings of danger, loss of control, and fatalism.

What Makes this Work Difficult?

Difficulties include listening to other people’s traumatic experiences, being reminded of your own traumatic experiences, or experiencing unpleasant emotions or feelings such as anger or disgust. Researchers may also be exposed to difficult and sensitive data or material. A key challenge is unknown unknowns - you cannot plan for what you don’t know. Researchers may be exposed to unexpected traumatic experiences which could relate to past trauma, or which may become especially hard due to life events such as parenthood or assuming caring responsibilities.

What helps:

• Set boundaries about when, where, and who you work with to limit exposure to sensitive material. For example, only spend two days a week working with sensitive materials. Avoid ‘contaminating’ your home environment - only work at your office or onsite.
• Build a support network. Identify more experienced colleagues as mentors: ‘find the gems’. Try to work as part of a pair or team of researchers as peer buddies. Seek out researcher wellbeing networks that exist beyond your own institution.
• Openness is key. Being open with one another will also enable you to change and swap tasks you may find difficult with a colleague or the wider research team. We all have different ‘sensitivities’, and sharing this within the team allows supervisors to re-allocate work where needed. 
• Access psychological support. Independent clinical psychological supervision should be available prior to, during, and after, the research period. Factor this into grant / studentship applications. Universities often provide counselling services too. 
• Speak up early. Don’t bottle things up. If you can rationalise your reactions to the work this will help – a problem rationalised is a problem halved.

• Fill your bucket. Engage in activities that you enjoy e.g., exercise, socialising, listening to music, museum visits...

• Debrief after tough work. Take an unfiltered approach. Find space to rant, if needed. Consider physical actions like writing down your thoughts on paper to flush out emotions. This can help you feel less ‘wired’ after hard interactions.

• Be mindful of power dynamics. Precarious contracts and difficult supervisors can add stress. Seek out supportive PIs has a  and co-design research to accommodate your strengths and needs.
• Check in with yourself. Are you hungry? Tired? In need of a break? Make sure your basic needs are met.

• Don’t take things personally. Colleagues or others also working with EDR may be having a difficult time, or something may be going on for them, and so they may be more quiet than usual or need some space.

• Acknowledge your unique exposure. Remind yourself that most people will not have seen the things you see at work. Acknowledge that, due to the nature of the work and confidentiality requirements, you will not be able to share with your family or friends.
  Develop a shorthand with loved ones to explain how you are feeling without having to go into details.

• If unsupported, act. Consider bringing in another supervisor / senior academic to join the team as a mentor. Take action, including moving teams, before you reach burnout. 
  Remember your end goal. Remember why you do this work, what motivates you to keep going.

Considering careers working with sensitive material: 

• It’s not like true crime. Real research deals with first-hand trauma, real lived experiences, and unfiltered data.

• Be mindful about what topic and data medium might work for you and your sensitivities.

• What motivates you? Think about the output – will your exposure lead to tangible impact or change (such as catching offenders)? Would you be (de)motivated if the output was purely theoretical? 

• Test your resilience by trying less intense topics first. It is ok to say ‘no’. It is fine if it turns out that the work is not for you. 

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