Abstract

The social worker is a professional that works in emergency «by definition» because the challenges that social workers everyday face are characterized by a high rate of frenzy, complexity and multidimensionality. The level of complexity inherent in the professional practice is further amplified by the organizational context and the system of social policies. However, the direct and indirect consequences of the health emergency SARS COV 2 have placed the Social Services in the face of unprecedented challenges in which the practitioners have had to make enormous operational and personal efforts. The article presents the findings of a research carried out beginning from a project promoted and financed by the Italian Association of Social Workers with the aim to offer a space of supervision to the social workers operating on the national territory during the pandemic COVID-19. The project resulted in the creation of 5 online supervision groups in which 37 social workers participated from different parts of Italy. The supervision process was monitored and studied by the Relational Social Work Research Center through the analysis of the diaries held by professionals who facilitated the supervision meetings and a focus group carried out at the end of the project. The research has highlighted how the supervision project has offered participants opportunities for support and advice for the management of complex situations, mutual emotional support, contrast to burnout, development of networks for future collaborations