Transcending Place Attachment Disruptions During A Public Health Crisis: Spiritual Struggles, Resilience, and Transformation

The COVID-19 pandemic has plagued the world, bringing everyday activities to a standstill. Many people are wrestling with the impact of the public health crisis on the connections they have with their environment (e.g., neighborhoods, cities), specific places (e.g., workplaces, places of worship), a...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Counted, Victor 1987- (Author) ; Captari, Laura E. (Author) ; Cowden, Richard G. (Author) ; Neff, Megan A. (Author)
Format: Print Article
Language:English
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Published: 2020
In: Journal of psychology and christianity
Year: 2020, Volume: 39, Issue: 4, Pages: 276-287
Further subjects:B Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2
B Covid-19
B Place attachment (Psychology)
B Public health
B Covid-19 Pandemic
Description
Summary:The COVID-19 pandemic has plagued the world, bringing everyday activities to a standstill. Many people are wrestling with the impact of the public health crisis on the connections they have with their environment (e.g., neighborhoods, cities), specific places (e.g., workplaces, places of worship), and people (e.g., loved ones, faith community) that are part of their daily lives. In this paper, we introduce the phenomenon of place attachment disruption as a common challenge for people who have been disconnected from their environment since the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2. We conceptualize place as a relational object and argue that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the attachment that people have with the physical elements of their environment, the lifeforms of the environment, and to some extent the "soul" of their cities. We then consider defensive responses that may be triggered by disruptions to place attachment during the public health crisis, including the emergence of spiritual/religious struggles. The experience of place attachment disruption is discussed as an opportunity to transcend place-related COVID-19 loss by detaching from "what no longer serves us" in a way that builds resilience. We conclude by highlighting some practical approaches that could facilitate psychospiritual transformation (e.g., meaning-making) to disrupted place attachment during the public health crisis, as well as those that could support the formation of new (or renewed) connections to place in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
ISSN:0733-4273
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of psychology and christianity