The COVID-19 pandemic impacted our lives on so many levels. Even after the public health emergency ended, we continue to live in a nation of stress and uncertainty. From the global pandemic, economic changes, anti-EDI legislation, racial injustices, religious biases, and the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the clients we serve have been impacted by these events. On November 20, 2023, the APA published the outcome of a survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of the APA (American Psychological Association, 2023). The survey identified those between the ages of 35 to 44 as experiencing the most significant increase in health and mental health conditions. The United States Department of Justice (U.S. Department of Justice, 2023) reported hate crimes being on the rise, with 59.1% being attributed to race, ethnicity, or ancestry, 17.2% to sexual orientation, and 17.3% to religion.
As psychologists, how competent are we in providing services to our communities impacted by collective trauma? We place significant emphasis on competence, not only in trainings, but throughout our professional careers. As stated by our ethics codes, 2.01(b) Boundaries of Competence and our General Principles, the responsibility lies on each one of us. We are called to Respect People’s Rights and Dignity (Principle E) and to do no harm (Principle A: Beneficence and Nonmaleficence). We are called to establish relationships of trust and to be responsible in our work (Principle B: Fidelity and Responsibility). We are called to be just (Principle D: Justice) (Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, 2017).
We continue to live in a nation that is under stress, experiencing trauma, health disparities, and racial, ethnic, and religious discrimination. I hope we don’t live life like the program “Survivor”…as long as it is not me, I don’t truly care. As I was talking to a friend and expressing my deepest concern for mass shootings, Anti-EDI legislation, and hate crimes, the person answered to me, “Well, Mayra, I don’t have a magic wand to change the world.” I was distraught by the comment, full of mixed feelings (e.g., anger, frustration, and sadness). After a few weeks, however, this comment brought clarity and purpose to my life. It became the main topic of some of my presentations as I realized that each one of us, as psychologists and mental health providers, is the ‘Magic Wand’ to make changes in our society and expand the access of mental health services to marginalized populations. It is our duty and our purpose to contribute to the lives of those we serve. It is within our ethical principles and standards to respect people’s rights and differences. To advocate and be the voice to strengthen the psychology workforce, to impact government policy, and to undertake this never-ending road of achieving social justice and health equity. My invitation to you today is to walk this road and activate your ‘Magic Wand’ in mitigating trauma. What would be your magic wand?
References:
American Psychological Association. (2023, November 1). Stress in America 2023: A nation grappling with psychological impacts of collective trauma. [Press release]. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2023/11/psychological-impacts-collective-trauma.
American Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. (2002, amended effective June 1, 2010, and January 1, 2017). Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/
United States Department of Justice. (2023, November 14). FBI releases 2022 hate crime statistics. [Press release]. https://www.justice.gov/hatecrimes/hate-crime-statistics.