Resilience Coaching During COVID-19: Piloting a C-L Inspired Peer Support Program at a Toronto Hospital

Resilience Coaching during COVID-19: piloting a CL inspired peer support program at a Toronto hospital

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) face threats to mental health and resilience, particularly during COVID-19. Supporting HCWs requires an approach that is evidence-based and adaptive. Mental health clinicians at an academic hospital in Toronto developed such an intervention: Resilience Coaching (RC) (1). This is rooted in the practice of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and based on experience supporting colleagues during the SARS epidemic in 2003. RC bolsters resilience in HCWs, helping them maintain focus and rigor in their jobs. Coaches are equipped with principles of coping and offer opportunities for emotional expression, decompression, collaborative advocacy, and education about stress reduction. As much as possible, coaches are assigned to work with units where there was a pre-existing relationship.

Methods: This project assesses the impact of coaching from the perspective of both coaches and participating staff. Using a mixed-methods approach we describe and evaluate the impact of the RC intervention: qualitative interviews with participants (coaches and recipients), and secondary analysis of quantitative data from CIHR-funded study of support for staff. Individuals participating in interviews are (1) coaches, and (2) staff and physicians who are recipients of coaching. For this paper, drawing from our qualitative dataset, we explore differences in coaching experience between groups where there was a pre-existing relationship between the coach and staff, and groups where there was not a pre-existing relationship.

Results: Preliminary analysis of our data suggests RC promotes resilience among HCWs. Interview themes include: enjoyable sessions, opportunities for enhancing self-awareness and team relationships, chance to know colleagues, and to pause/breath while at work. Some challenges to providing and receiving coaching include: fitting it into a busy hospital schedule, and adapting support to differing occupational cultures of diverse HCWs.

Coaches who are more embedded within clinical area report feeling more comfortable and confident in their ability to provide support, and recipients who have rooted relationships with their coaches express gratitude for the support and solidarity, and a sense of being understood.

Conclusion: RC provided by internal staff can be an effective means to support hospital HCWs during a public health emergency. Drawing from the model of Consultation Liaison Psychiatry in its delivery can likely enhance the effectiveness.

Learning Objectives:
1) Describe the 'Resilience Coaching' peer support model
2) Compare experiences of coaching where there is an active 'embedded' vs. non embedded coach

Reference:

Rosen B, Preisman M, Hunter J, Maunder R. Applying Psychotherapeutic Principles to Bolster Resilience Among Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic. AM J Psychother in Advance. 28 Sept 2020: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20200020