We describe challenges when developing a therapeutic alliance—the dynamic and collaborative relational bond developed between therapist and client in a virtual environment during COVID-19. We offer adaptive strategies that can be used when establishing, developing, and deepening the therapeutic alliance when working virtually. Using a case study, individual vignettes illustrate the importance of establishing, developing, and deepening a therapeutic alliance. We introduce reflection and consultation adaptive strategies that may be effective when working virtually with clients. We also offer additional recommendations for strengthening clinical experiences while working with clients in a virtual environment.

This article describes the formation and work of an interdisciplinary team of social work and public health faculty and students. The team developed internships amid the challenges of the pandemic, with a focus on slowing the community spread of COVID-19. The project joined local government, the private sector, and the university in a research study to better understand and influence face mask wearing attitudes and behaviors and in an explicit effort to change related policies. We developed and implemented an action research project that included direct observations of facemask wearing behaviors, surveys regarding beliefs and attitudes about face masks, and interviews with community stakeholders. The project provided empirical data regarding face-covering usage that helped to change local—and then state—policy regarding mask wearing. This article provides a chronological narrative of the experience largely told through the participants’ voices, especially those of the students.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected social work education, particularly field education. This article reflects upon field education of student research assistants doing their practica during COVID-19, comparing those perspectives to those of students surveyed one year ago. The research assistants worked on a national online survey conducted in July 2020 by the Transforming the Field Education Landscape (TFEL) partnership. The survey obtained responses from 367 BSW and MSW students. The article outlines five major student themes: social isolation, mental health, quality of learning, financial concerns, and a sense of fear and uncertainty. It juxtaposes these concerns with reflections by the TFEL student research assistants—each research assistant reflecting on one concern that resonated with them—to demonstrate their continued relevance to student practica one year later.

This reflection explores my personal experience as a field director managing the upheaval of students removed from field placement in the wake of the pandemic. Personal responses to the demands of work, motherhood, and self-care are narrated through the process of acknowledging loss and grief for students and me. Identification of hope and resilience in times of chaos provides a mechanism to support others as they traverse unexpected shifts in work, practice, and daily life.

This article explores our experiences as four social work professionals in higher education during COVID-19. Utilizing the lens of collective, cultural, and shared trauma, we reflect on our experiences as academic educators, field educators, and academic administrators across three institutions. Our perspectives and responses from a large public institution, small private religious institutions, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and a Primarily White Institution are shared. We highlight the role of trauma-informed teaching in supporting students, staff, and faculty to explore approaches to promote professional post-traumatic growth outcomes.

In this Guest Editorial, we introduce the second of two special issues of Reflections focusing on the impact of COVID-19 on professional education and practice. In this issue, authors in the professions of social work, nursing, gerontology, public health, and education offer endless insights into the impact of COVID-19 on students, educators, and field practice experience as well as on their personal and professional lives. Reflecting on their lived experiences, authors share the strategies they used to adapt to an ever-changing world during the COVID-19 pandemic. The important topics of shared or collective trauma and resiliency are explored from a variety of perspectives.