Arbeit in der psychosozialen Versorgung von Kindern, Jugendlichen und Familien während der Covid-19-Pandemie – Ergebnisse einer qualitativen Interviewstudie in Wien und Niederösterreich

The requirements of “social distancing” during the Corona pandemic raised challenges for the implementation of psychosocial care services for children, adolescents, and families, which are traditionally reliant on face-to-face contact. Between March and October 2020, this qualitative study investigated the impact of the pandemic on the provision of psychosocial care at three points in time. We examined how staff and managers of psychosocial institutions experienced their work under the changing circumstances and what opportunities as well as risks they perceived for their work with clients. Their work situation is investigated by means of the concepts of the “Arbeitskraftunternehmer” and of vulnerability. This paper presents two topics that emerged from the analysis of the first two waves of data collection. The first expresses a conflict between practitioners need to protect their own health and their aspiration to maintain services. The second addresses practitioners’ experiences of stress due to their own affectedness by the crisis as well as significant changes in work realities. Our data show the strong effort of professionals to maintain supportive services during the crisis despite difficult conditions. However, it also shows the strain on social workers in the field and that adequate framework conditions are necessary both to strengthen psychosocial care in general and to cope with social crises on this scale.