By Sandra Githaiga, outgoing clinical program director

Last week CVT Ethiopia’s clinical team and the International Federation of Red Cross Reference Center for Psychosocial Support (IFRC PS) embarked on a transformative journey during a three-day meeting dedicated to scaling up supportive supervision within CVT. Throughout the three days as we reflected on the insights gained and the progress made, we developed strategies for further scale-up and implementation.

Supportive supervision is a central component of CVT’s model of care. Providing care to people who have experienced deep trauma is very challenging and requires clinicians to be intentional about their own wellbeing and resilience. Clinical supervision supports emotional wellbeing by allowing time with a clinical supervisor to process the difficult work the clinician is doing, and to reflect on options for care and interventions.

And for CVT Ethiopia, being able to expand our capacity for supervision through this session was most welcome. A major accomplishment during the meeting was the development of a comprehensive implementation plan that outlines clear tasks, strategies and timelines for scaling supportive supervision across the organization. This plan will serve as a guiding framework for our future initiatives and ensure consistency in our supervisory approaches.

By investing in our supervisory practices and prioritizing supportive leadership, we are confident that we will unlock the full potential of our team members and drive sustainable growth and success in the days ahead.”

Sandra Githaiga, clinical program director, CVT Ethiopia

Furthermore, with completion of train-the-trainer sessions for three CVT staff, the IFRC PS center team gave CVT approval to begin providing other partners with trainings. A plan was put in place to have more CVT staff in different regions trained to ensure more trainers are available to facilitate the scale-up. CVT has built a reputation with other partner agencies for our robust supervision structures, and this approval positions CVT staff as integrated model for supervision (IMS) focal points in Ethiopia.

As we look to the future, we are committed to building upon the momentum generated during this three-day meeting. We will continue to reinforce supportive supervision practices, provide ongoing training and development opportunities for our team members, and foster a culture of collaboration and excellence within our organization.

Together, we are building a stronger, more resilient organization that thrives on a foundation of supportive leadership and teamwork.”

This meeting was a resounding success thanks to the dedication, engagement and enthusiasm of all participants. We thank the IFRC PS Center team for their constant support throughout this process. By investing in our supervisory practices and prioritizing supportive leadership, we are confident that we will unlock the full potential of our team members and drive sustainable growth and success in the days ahead. Together, we are building a stronger, more resilient organization that thrives on a foundation of supportive leadership and teamwork.

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Shown in photo: Sandra Githaiga; Tet Puok Duel, associate psychotherapist/trainer, CVT Gambella; Shona Whitton, technical advisor, IFRC PS center; Solyana Gebru, counseling supervisor, CVT Tigray; Cátia Sofia Peres de Matos, technical advisor, IFRC PS center; Medhanye Alem, incoming clinical program director, CVT Ethiopia.

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Sandra Githaiga

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