As the need for psychosocial care grows in the healthcare space for children, we’re thrilled to announce the launch of our new leadership development program in collaboration with JoAnn Medical Center in Tbilisi, Georgia. The goal of this program is to develop and expand leadership of psychosocial care within the Republic of Georgia to promote service sustainability. This is done through implementation of a clinical leadership model that focuses on leadership growth, support, development, and role satisfaction.

Our initial Fellowship programs, which were launched in August 2019, supported psychologists working at 4 different hospitals within Tbilisi. The fellowship programs were so successful that the healthcare team at JoAnn Medical Center expressed desire to further establish clinical leadership, growth and development within psychosocial care services. We are excited to support this effort by providing mentorship to the future leaders of psychosocial care within the country. We started our leadership development program on March 15, 2022 and have already had 3 successful and collaborative sessions.

If you’re not familiar with psychosocial care, it addresses the dynamic relationship between psychological and social processes that impact a child’s healthcare experience.

Psychological processes are internal; they include thoughts, feelings, emotions, understanding, and perception. Social processes are external; they are comprised of social networks, community, family, and environment. When a child enters a healthcare environment, we don’t always know the issues that a pediatric patient is facing when they step into the clinic or hospital. We can however, work to create a space and an experience that is calm, comforting, and supportive, and one that reduces stress and fear. This supportive experience is psychosocial care.

If you’d like to learn more about psychosocial care, consider joining Tame the Pain & Fear™, our virtual training program for healthcare professionals.