Peer Consultation: An Enriching Necessity Rather Than a Luxury for Psychologists During and Beyond the Pandemic

Abstract

The pandemic increased professional and personal demands on psychologists, resulting in higher levels of burnout and clinician isolation (Aafjes-van Doorn et al., 2020; Shklarski et al., 2021). Meanwhile, professional consultation is less available due to remote work and social distancing (Sasangohar et al., 2020). Without adequate consultation, psychologists’ burnout and isolation may impair their ability to provide quality clinical care (Maslach & Leiter, 2016). Limited literature focuses on how to support psychologists during this unprecedented time. We discuss assessment tools to identify needs for peer consultation and effective consultation group strategies. Our case example of a peer consultation group demonstrates how peer consultation can support psychologists and mitigate the unique challenges throughout the pandemic.