This simple GT model offers a conceptual framework that describes and explains the main psychological aspects of the Covid-19 crisis in Israel, and their interrelations, as expressed by the participants of this issue. It is a novel conceptualization of Covid-19 in general and in Israel in particular. The model offers a better understanding of the familiar phenomena that we are all currently observing and experiencing. As practitioners in various fields of psychology, we believe that better understanding is important for better coping. Since the research in this area is so young, published findings are still sporadic, and at this early stage of research, this model offers a preliminary conceptual platform for more integrative research and conceptualization in the future. One of the aims of this study is to encourage future research in this area. Since this journal addresses practitioners, I hope that this model will inspire future research to identify additional connections between theory, data, and practice.
This study offers many ideas for future research, which can be found throughout the text above. I would like to list several ideas, to illustrate the broad scope of the work ahead:
- Enhance our understanding of the variables that affect well-being versus stress and despair in Corona times.
- Develop and evaluate different treatment strategies for this situation, especially for common and acute phenomena like loneliness.
- Map the variables that affect remote treatment processes and treatment outcomes. This map should include technical variables, skills, interpersonal differences, intervention modalities, and other factors.
- Deepen our understanding of the “shared fate” experienced by therapists and patients in times of crisis such as this. Conceptualize and evaluate the best ways to channel parallel experiences to benefit treatment.
- Test conventional truisms regarding treatment boundaries and question their effectiveness and implications during crises such as the current pandemic.
- Analyze motivations for participation in the social protest and their therapeutic impact on individual and societal levels.
- Conceptualize emerging styles of leadership based on networking, compassion, personal responsibility, and social responsibility.
- Extend research on hope and its specific features in Corona times.
I would like to conclude this study with some critical thoughts. This study was written in autumn 2020, during Israel’s second quarantine, and working on this project gave me a personal sense of significance and vitality. My emotional involvement may have exceeded the recommended scope for phenomenological study. One effect of my over-involvement is the identification of two themes (the political situation and the social protest), although based on data from only four (of the 12) participants. Nonetheless, I felt that the data are very powerful, and that these two themes are crucial for an understanding of the situation in Israel during this period. Obviously, other researchers might have interpreted these data differently, yet I feel obligated to highlight my own perspective.
This study offers a summative integration of the materials in this issue. In line with the interactive nature of this journal, as readers and participants you are invited to create your own concluding summary, and share your thoughts, ideas, suggestions, and reservations.
