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At the beginning of the Public Health Emergency (PHE) Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment and recovery support providers had to shift service delivery from a mostly in-person structure to virtual. This swift uptake in the use of telebehavioral-health may be transformative not only for the healthcare system but for the behavioral health field as well. Support derived from clinical and peer group services is essential especially during a PHE when access to services may be limited. SUD treatment and recovery providers have made great strides in virtualizing service delivery especially individual-based services. However, group counseling services, a mainstay in many SUD treatment and recovery support programs, has been more difficult to implement. This two-part webinar series will:
 

• review recent research regarding patient satisfaction, group cohesion, and effectiveness of online group services
• identify challenges typically associated with online group facilitation and how to address them
• provide specific recommendations for online group facilitation and how it differs from in-person groups (e.g., tips and techniques, group agreements, etc.)
• discuss safety protocols, and issues related to ethics and privacy/security and confidentiality in the context of online group case scenarios
   

This webinar series will highlight online group counseling services and will demonstrate its viability as an alternative to traditional in-person groups requiring new facilitative, alliance building, and administrative skills for both counselors and peers.