Online supervision training during the COVID-19 pandemic: a pilot program to foster supervisor engagement and organizational sustainability

ABSTRACT

This online pilot supervision training program, with the primary goal of fostering supervisor engagement and organizational sustainability, was collaboratively developed using a combination of didactic and experiential learning to meet the acute needs of a Canadian community-based mental health/addiction organization transitioning through integration during the pandemic. Preliminary qualitative and descriptive results of a post-training survey with 21 supervisors highlighted lessons learned to meet immediate training needs, the benefits and challenges of technology in online learning, and the complexities of embedding sustainable supervision practice within organizational culture. The results support a broader training program for a provincial network of agencies.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19 pandemic
• supervision
• online training
• supervisor engagement
• organizational sustainability

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the directors and supervisors, who shared their experiences with us.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by King’s University College under an Internal Research Grant [no number].

Notes on contributors

Rosemary Vito

Rosemary Vito, PhD, MSW, RSW, is an Associate Professor, School of Social Work, King’s University College, London, Ontario, Canada. Her teaching and research interests include leadership practice/development, clinical supervision, organizational culture/change, mental health practice, and field instruction. She has twenty+ years supervisory and direct practice experience in community mental health organizations, has coled diversity and wellness initiatives, and contributed to community and editorial boards. She has coauthored 20 peer reviewed publications and 30 peer reviewed/invited conference presentations, and has facilitated 17 community workshops. She is coapplicant on two SSHRC grants totalling $95,000 and principal applicant on multiple King’s research grants totalling $18,000.

Laura Brunskill

Laura Brunskill, MSW, RSW, OCT, is a Research Assistant, School of Social Work, King’s University College, London, Ontario, Canada. Her research interests include leadership development, clinical supervision, organizational culture/change, and perinatal mental health practice. She has coauthored 2 peer reviewed publications and 2 peer reviewed conference presentations, and cofacilitated two leadership resilience and supervision training workshops.

Sarah Lindsay

Sarah Lindsay, MSW, RSW, is a Quality & Research Analyst with CMHA Ontario. Her research/practice interests include community mental health, harm reduction, trauma-informed program evaluation, quality improvement, and organizational culture/change. She has several years of experience providing program development, evaluation, and research support in academic and community settings. She has authored and delivered several community based invited conference presentations, coauthored two research reports, and cofacilitated one supervision training workshop.