Sozialberatung in der Postpandemie – Blended Counseling

As a consequence of the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic (physical distancing, lockdown etc), social services have undergone an enormous digital shift in terms of communication with colleagues, clients, and users, whether this be via videoconferencing, messenger services, telephone services, chat or email. This resulted in the development of medialised communication routines which are independent of location and partially asynchronous. Further development is needed for these routines to become permanent, not only in relation to data and confidentiality issues. This article draws on experience garnered from the academic training of specialists, from curricular development in tertiary education, as well as from interdisciplinary cooperation with the user community of the open-source online counselling platform used by Caritas. It aims to present conceptual ideas for blended counselling in social work, focusing on the technical requirements, the interdisciplinary competence profile of professionals, the process of service provision, as well as professional ethics and normative issues. © 2022 Duncker und Humblot GmbH. All rights reserved.