Supporting the emotional wellbeing of adults in child care settings during the COVID-19 pandemic

In order to provide an emotionally responsive environment for young people in care, we must turn our attention to the emotional wellbeing of the adults who look after them. The COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to highlight the importance of the emotional wellbeing of caring adults. This includes introducing processes within the workplace that can be adopted to support the development of self-care, such as developing skills in self-awareness, emotional literacy and regulation, enabling adults to be emotionally present and responsive to the needs of young people. This article reflects on the introduction of supervision, reflective practice and consultation within Aberlour Sycamore Services in Scotland, summarising a recent evaluation of these structures.