Elsevier

General Hospital Psychiatry

Volume 75, March–April 2022, Pages 83-87
General Hospital Psychiatry

Resilience coaching for healthcare workers: Experiences of receiving collegial support during the COVID-19 pandemic

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2022.02.003Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective

To explore experiences of receiving collegial support from the department of psychiatry at an acute care hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method

The Resilience Coaching program launched in April 2020, with the aim of offering a timely response to supporting psychosocial needs of healthcare workers (HCWs), leveraging collegial relationships and mental health training to offer support. Twenty-four HCWs were interviewed about their experiences receiving support from resilience coaches.

Results

Participants reported that Resilience Coaching offered hospital staff opportunities for connection, encouragement to attend to personal wellness, and avenues to learn practical skills to assist with coping. Coaching also assisted HCWs in accessing clinical mental health support when that was requested by staff.

Conclusions

Resilience Coaching is a model for supporting colleagues in an acute care hospital during a pandemic. It is generally regarded positively by participants. Further study is warranted to determine how best to engage some occupational subcultures within the hospital, and whether the model is feasible for other healthcare contexts.

Keywords

Mental health
COVID-19
Resilience
Healthcare workers
Stress

Data availability

Data will be made available on request.

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