Journalists have turned to psychologists during the COVID-19 pandemic to help make sense of this unprecedented crisis, seeking expertise on stress and anxiety, resilience, the psychological effects of isolation, xenophobia, navigating financial change, fear and uncertainty, and myriad other topics.
From homes or empty offices across the country, psychologists have written op-eds translating their research and have spoken to national and local reporters, news anchors, and radio and podcast hosts with the goal of helping people understand and cope with the dramatic changes brought on by the pandemic. Here are just a few of the many examples of how psychologists have brought their science and expertise to the public.
- Throughout the crisis, Lisa Damour, PhD, has been offering parents tips on how to help teens in quarantine cope with anxiety and grieve the loss of rites of passage such as graduation in her regular “Adolescence” column in The New York Timesopens in new window. “Though we can’t replace what’s been lost, adults should not underestimate the power of offering outright empathy to disheartened adolescents,” wrote Damour. “When it comes to navigating painful feelings, the only way out is through, and offering our teenagers the compassion they deserve paves their way toward feeling better.”
- Psychologist Renee Schneider, PhD, of Lyra Health, a corporate benefits provider, wrote a piece for Fast Company magazineopens in new window encouraging businesses to make employee mental health a priority during the pandemic. “Taking care of ourselves and each other—including our families, friends, and co-workers—should be the first order of business right now,” she wrote. “Employers who are proactive, considerate and flexible will be better positioned to weather this storm.”
- University of Houston psychologist Rheeda Walker, PhD, joined celebrities including Idris Elba, Tiffany Haddish and Alicia Keyes for the BET network’s “Saving Our Selves” COVID-19 relief broadcast in April,opens in new window offering research-based tips on how to maintain mental health during the pandemic. “Given how coronavirus has disproportionately impacted African Americans who are on the front lines of essential services and subject to chronic health conditions, it’s important to see the community come together to increase awareness and much needed support,” she said.
- Sport psychologist John Tauer, PhD, spoke to the Associated Pressopens in new window for an article that appeared in The New York Times about the stress that quarantined athletes are experiencing and how they can stay mentally fit. Tauer, the men’s basketball coach and a psychology professor at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, has encouraged his and other athletes to apply their knowledge of being team players to this new reality. “Let’s do what a great teammate does, and that means think about the greater good as opposed to what my immediate wants might be right now,” he said.
- University of Pennsylvania psychologist Angela Duckworth, PhD, is collaborating with Education Weekopens in new window magazine to answer questions from teachers several times a week to help them support their students as they learn from home. Now more than ever, she said, teachers are looking for advice on how to keep students engaged and how to assist kids who may have little educational support at home. “The questions that have always occupied teachers are even more urgent during the coronavirus crisis,” she wrote.
- In an essay for Business Insideropens in new window, New York clinical and forensic psychologist Paula Madrid, PsyD, wrote about the ongoing emotional fatigue and extreme stress health-care workers are experiencing during this crisis. “The gravity of this moment cannot be overstated, nor can its toll on our health-care professionals be overestimated,” wrote Madrid, who has been treating these front-line workers remotely over the past few months. “All resources must be pooled to serve those who, in this time of unparalleled devastation, serve us so devotedly.”
- In an article for Today.com on coping with COVID-19-related financial stressopens in new window, psychologists Brad Klontz, PsyD, and Moira Somers, PhD, warned people against making rash decisions about their finances that they might regret later. “When you become emotionally charged, you become rationally challenged,” said Klontz. Added Somers: “Don’t touch your face, don’t touch your 401k.”
- Duke University psychologist Robin Gurwitch, PhD, shared tips with HuffPostopens in new window on how to keep children and teens socially connected with friends and family. “We all do better when we are connected with others,” said Gurwitch. “Finding ways for children to connect with friends via Skype, FaceTime, etc. is important. Texting, Instagram and phone or even old-fashioned letters keep us connected. Have a virtual playdate. Play a multiplayer video game together. Connections matter.”
- Drawing on his research on virtual communication, Stanford University psychologist Jeremy Bailenson, PhD, told NPR why Zoom calls can feel awkward and exhaustingopens in new window for some people. “People have very dedicated personal norms about the proper space one should leave between themselves and others,” he said. “When we’re actually face to face, we don’t stare at each other’s eyes for that long, but the default setting on a lot of these videoconference technologies is a Brady Brunch grid, where everybody’s close by and staring at you right in the face.”
- Vaile Wright, PhD, APA’s senior director of health care innovation, encouraged people to resist the pressure to be productive every moment during quarantine in an article in USA Today.opens in new window “Try to not judge yourself by a standard set by someone else about how you should be spending your time,” said Wright. “It’s OK to not be OK right now and to just do your best to get through this truly unprecedented time.”
