Video-conferencing clinical supervision of rural, remote and northern counsellors to mitigate compassion fatigue

Abstract

This is a mixed methods quantitative-qualitative explanatory sequential research project informed by transformative and feminist epistemology. It investigates the patterns of engagement in clinical supervision among Canadian professional counsellors across the career span, with a particular sub-focus on the experiences of those in rural, remote, and northern contexts. It also seeks to understand how video-conferencing-based clinical supervision can support rural, remote, and northern counsellors to enhance wellness and mitigate compassion fatigue. Of the 125 survey respondents, 55% indicate that they do not have a clinical supervisor. Of those who do have a supervisor, 66% of sample had under 10 years of experience. The Gamma test revealed results approaching significance (p=.085) when considering years of experience; there may be a relationship between the number of years in practice and the likelihood that the practitioner has a supervisor. There may also be a relationship between age and the likelihood that the practitioner has a supervisor: Chi-square showed a statistically significant result of p=.03 and on average, the likelihood that the respondents have a clinical supervisor dropped by approximately 10% per decade. The Chi-square (p=.003) also revealed statistical significance indicating that respondents experience financial barriers to accessing clinical supervision. Semi-structured interviews with nine respondents were treated with thematic content analysis supported by NVivo 10 and revealed 8 higher order themes. Of particular note are the sub-themes which describe the unique opportunities inherent in the medium of video-conferencing including: live remote supervision, the use of the parallax and potential self-supervision by viewing one’s image. The following sub-themes were identified and describe the ways in which video-conferencing clinical supervision can be helpful in mitigating compassion fatigue: providing resources and ideas, decreasing isolation, normalizing experiences, creating boundaries, generating clarity, re-energizing interest in work, providing opportunity to recognise strengths and competency and by providing emotional support.