Wood’s Homes shifted to virtual service delivery with many of its clients due to Covid-19. This created new challenges but also encouraged innovation and exploring new ways to build therapeutic relationships with clients. We conducted focus groups in December 2020 with representation from frontline staff (n=13), management and senior leadership (n=8), and support staff (n=6) to ask them how they managed and/or supported this shift, what processes needed to be expanded or newly developed, and how they connected with clients and their families to continue providing service with minimal disruption. We highlight the importance of a coordinated response, as participants noted that building a therapeutic relationship with clients remotely requires the building of new infrastructures, processes, and standards for effective service delivery. Parts of this work and the ability to explore these experiences were supported by funds received from Frayme through their Virtual Innovations in Care grant program.
Presenters and slide deck
Jenna Passi, Research Supervisor, Wood's Homes
Jenna Passi, MPP, MA – Currently the Research Program Supervisor at Wood’s Homes. Jenna holds both a Master of Public Policy (University of Calgary, 2018) and a Master of Arts – Criminology (University of Ontario Institute of Technology, 2014). Research interests include: social policy, program and outcome evaluation, capacity building, and data driven decision making.
Mitchell Parkinson, Research Assistant, Wood’s Homes
Mitchell Parkinson (M.A., University of Calgary, B.A., University of New Brunswick) is a Research Assistant with Calgary-based Wood’s Homes, a not-for-profit providing mental health services for youth in Alberta.
Key Learnings
- Shifting to virtual service delivery presents organizational challenges.
- Virtual work requires shifts in service delivery models.
- Participating staff would like to see a hybrid model of in-person and virtual service moving forward.