Relational Reflexivity in Qualitative Interviews: Insider Research with Lawyers

This article explores the practice of reflexivity in qualitative interviews conducted by a lawyer-turned-psychologist researching lawyer wellbeing and identity. The author suggests an integration of the social identity approach and reflexivity to analyse three encounters with participants who are practising lawyers. The paper offers a worked example of reflexive interviewing within an insider context illustrating how shared professional identity shapes data generation and interpretation, and how reflexive insights are embedded in, rather than external to, the data. Finally, it argues for a more discomfort-tolerant, theory-informed reflexivity that can deepen analysis and support richer qualitative research in under-theorised domains.