Transition to Teletherapy with Adolescents in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Holding Environment Approach

Osei-Buapim, Cierra

In residential high school settings, an immediate change in the provision of clinical services occurred when distance learning began due to COVID-19. Face-to-face sessions previously held at school suddenly became at-home phone sessions. Social workers were required to quickly adjust to the use of technology to resume provision of services. Accordingly, school social workers decided among themselves what treatment approaches would be best for remote work with high school students. The holding environment can be an effective treatment approach when working both in person and by phone with adolescents. This chapter applies “the holding environment” to two case vignettes to illustrate its efficacy as a treatment intervention for adolescents in high school settings. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social workers’ provision of services to high school students of residential treatment centers is discussed, with special attention given to the phenomenon of shared trauma.