“We Also Suffer”: Self-support and Supervisory Support for Social Work Practitioners in Weather-Related Events

Social workers make great efforts in times of weather-related events. They are second-tier responders who need to support others and care for themselves. This study explores social workers’ dual exposure to the collective trauma of weather-related events, primarily as residents of the impacted area and secondarily as practitioners providing services to survivors. This qualitative research uses semi-structured interviews with 27 social work practitioners who experienced weather-related disasters in Oman. Based on interviewees’ experiences, weather-related events are devastating situations that cause physical, psychosocial, and spiritual consequences. The matter is exacerbated more for social workers exposed to these traumatic experiences more than once. The findings indicate that although social workers are themselves vulnerable to event-related damage and disruption, very limited support is available to them, and they mainly rely on their capital to build resilience to these traumatic experiences. The most significant thematic findings are self-support driven by helping others, personal readiness, spirituality, and peer network. The findings also show that social workers need welfare and therapeutic support provided by their institutions. This research contributes to the research-based literature on collective trauma and deepens our understanding of the impact of collective trauma on the social worker’s personal and professional lives. It suggests guidance on providing social workers with continuous professional development (CPD) training on how to care for themselves, such as maintaining their personal routine and allocating reflection time. The guidance also targets social work managers in caring for their employees to recover best and avoid long-term consequences, such as keeping continuous supervision and offering accessible counseling support.