Symposia
Dissemination & Implementation Science
Emma PeConga, M.S.
Graduate Student
University of Washington, Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Alexandra Klein, MA
Graduate Student
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio
Ash Holloway, PhD.
Research Assistant
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington
Alexandra Bowling, B.S.
Research Assistant
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio
Momin Egeh, PhD
Program Coordinator
Ma’alin Haruon Masjid, Hargeisa, Somalia
Seattle, Washington
Dega Egeh, PhD
Program Coordinator
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington
Jacob Bentley, PhD.
Professor
Seattle Pacific University
Seattle, Washington
Norah Feeny, PhD.
Professor
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio
Lori Zoellner, PhD
Professor
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington
Clinical supervision is critical for the uptake of psychotherapy (Herschell et al., 2010) but is difficult to facilitate in countries with limited providers, resources, and internet infrastructure. Innovative supervision approaches are needed to increase access to mental health treatments in low-to-middle income countries (LMICs). This study examined the content and feasibility of remote WhatsApp text supervision conducted as part of an open clinical trial in Somaliland. Islamic Trauma Healing (ITH; [removed for masked review]) is a brief, group, lay-lead, trauma-focused, mosque-based intervention that has demonstrated initial efficacy in pilot studies in the U.S. and Somaliland ([removed for masked review]). After a 2-day, in-person training, lay leaders lead four groups with five to seven members focused on trauma-related psychopathology and community reconciliation. Somali lay leaders trained in ITH (n = 9) and the research team (n = 6) attended weekly WhatsApp supervision during the six-session intervention. Supervision was simultaneously translated. Content was logged and subjected to qualitative analysis, using two coders. Comments related to intervention implementation indicated that lay leaders understood the treatment rationale, adhered to treatment procedures, and believed intervention components to be helpful and culturally relevant. Themes related to engagement suggested perfect attendance across groups and high levels of participation. Lay leader psychoeducation and skill development, supervisor praise, support, and encouragement, and supervisee gratitude emerged as additional themes. Remote text supervision conducted via WhatsApp was technologically feasible and clinically effective for this lay-led intervention. When tailored to the local context, remote supervision approaches hold promise for increasing access to services in settings with limited resources.