Hello everyone. Forgive me for my naivete for lack of deep understanding of public psychology. But I am really perplexed at Racial strife being quoted as 'trauma'. Racism is cultivated as part of culture, by calling it trauma (accident, acute, sudden occurrence leading to health deterioration) I think the whole idea of racism is misplaced in minds of people. Riots you see the roads (Portland) is not the cause but the symptoms of cultural fabric of America. Yes, it can be a trauma for few who were very naive and now suddenly had truth flung into their face. For those bearing simmering, tacit racism it is more like chronic backpain, not a trauma. Truly yours Deepak Loomba On 11/9/2020 10:59 PM, Michael Mascolo wrote: > *CAUTION: *This email originated from outside of JMU. Do not click > links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the > content is safe. > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Hi All: > > This is an important message. However, in my view, it is only half > right. > > The idea that the nation is experiencing trauma signals the need to > attend to the mental health of people who have been exposed to the > difficulties that we have encountered. These include polarization, > divisiveness, the coronavirus, racial strife, and so forth. > > However, the concept of “trauma” tends to represent only the “need” > side of the process: it treats the populace as patients who must be > done to. We also need the opposite message — that through the thick of > all of this, we must be courageous in whatever ways that we can > muster. We must seek resilience in moving forward. > > The language of trauma is a double-edged sword. We need both the > moral language of care and the moral language of the strong virtues — > courage, resilience, strength. As Churchill said, if you are going > through hell, well, keep going. > > M. > > >> On Nov 9, 2020, at 11:55 AM, Joseph Michalski <[log in to unmask] >> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote: >> >> *CAUTION:*This email originated from outside of JMU. Do not click >> links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know >> the content is safe. >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> Hi folks. Just for a bit of historical context, the APA sent the >> attached letter in December 2016 to President-Elect Trump that >> outlined their vision and policy preferences for the incoming >> administration. Their six main emphases are quite ambitious in >> promoting universal, integrated, and culturally-sensitive mental >> health services. As far as I can tell, they were entirely >> unsuccessful in achieving their aims with the Trump administration. >> >> It's interesting too because there are serious divides in the U.S. >> (other countries too!) among the citizenry as to the desirability of >> such policies & funding by the federal government. Yet that doesn't >> mean people are not concerned about mental health issues. A national >> poll last year in the U.S. found that more than 70% viewed "mental >> health" and "physical health" as equally important, with the top four >> conditions of most concern being cancer, depression, anxiety, and >> heart disease. But what I found especially compelling was that nearly >> all respondents (96.8%) stated that mental health conditions >> represent legitimate medical illnesses and, like chronic physical >> disorders, can be effectively treated and managed (94.4%). >> >> The debates, then, seem to be much more about the role of government >> in funding and/or providing such services -- and that's where we see >> far less consensus. Hence the APA statement to the Biden/Harris >> administration strikes me as a pre-emptive effort aimed at trying to >> establish a working relationship w/ the new administration and >> Congress in the hopes of developing a more comprehensive, federal >> policy response to mental health issues. I suspect that Congress will >> not be as enamored of such an integrated effort even in response to >> COVID-19 at the national level, preferring instead to deal with these >> issues more on a state-by-state basis. Just my guess, obviously, but >> I thought it'd be helpful to have a little more contextual info to >> consider. Best regards, -Joe >> >> Dr. Joseph H. Michalski >> Professor >> King’s University College at Western University >> 266 Epworth Avenue, DL-201 >> London, Ontario, Canada N6A 2M3 >> Tel: (519) 433-3491 >> Email:[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> >> ______________________ >> >> /e^i /^π + 1 = 0 >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> *From:*tree of knowledge system discussion >> <[log in to unmask] >> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> on behalf of Henriques, >> Gregg - henriqgx <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> >> *Sent:*Monday, November 9, 2020 11:17 AM >> *To:*[log in to unmask] >> <mailto:[log in to unmask]> >> <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> >> *Subject:*TOK FW: [DIV24] APA Announcement Concerning Joe Biden and >> Kamala Harris >> FYI, here is the APA’s press release on the heels of the election: >> *FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE >> Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020* >> *STATEMENT OF AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION IN REACTION TO >> BIDEN’S ELECTION AS PRESIDENT* >> WASHINGTON — Following is a statement by Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD, >> chief executive officer of the American Psychological Association, on >> the election of Joseph R. Biden Jr. as president and Kamala D. Harris >> as vice president: >> “The American Psychological Association looks forward to welcoming >> former Vice President Joe Biden to the office of president of the >> United States and the beginning of a new, hopeful era with a leader >> who has committed to unite our country and implement policies that >> will stem the spread of COVID-19 and move us closer to having >> effective treatments and a safe vaccine. Psychological science will >> be crucial to aiding the president-elect and vice president-elect on >> a variety of issues in the COVID-19 fight, including helping to >> motivate individuals to adopt the science-based treatment and >> interventions that will be necessary for our success. >> >> “America is a nation in trauma. We are experiencing record stress as >> a result of the pandemic, economic uncertainty and concerns about >> racial justice. We will look to the Biden administration to move >> quickly to address policies that have been harmful to the mental and >> physical health of the nation and to support increased funding for >> and wider dissemination and use of the important psychological >> research that can help our country rebuild and heal its workplaces, >> its schools, its communities and its people. We also ask that the >> Biden administration support continuing access to telehealth as our >> nation copes with these challenges. >> >> “APA supports President-elect Biden in his goal to preserve and >> strengthen the Affordable Care Act and defend it against judicial >> challenges. We also look forward to the Biden administration’s >> respecting and using science to inform critical public policy decisions. >> >> “The American Psychological Association stands ready to work with the >> new administration and the new Congress to implement laws and >> policies that will benefit society and improve people’s lives.” >> Click on this link to unsubscribe from the DIV24 listUNSUBSCRIBE >> <mailto:[log in to unmask]> >> An email will automatically open with "Unsubscribe" in the subject >> area. Just Send the message, as is, to unsubscribe from this list. >> ############################ >> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write >> to:mailto:[log in to unmask] >> <mailto:mailto:[log in to unmask]>or >> click the following >> link:http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1 >> <http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1> >> ############################ >> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write >> to:mailto:[log in to unmask] >> <mailto:mailto:[log in to unmask]>or >> click the following >> link:http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1 >> <http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1> >> <2016 APA Letter to Trump RE Health-Care-Reform.pdf> > > ############################ > > To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to: > mailto:[log in to unmask] > <mailto:mailto:[log in to unmask]> or > click the following link: > http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1 > <http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1> > -- ############################ To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to: mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the following link: http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1