Journal article
Expanding the Constructs of Grief and Loss in Capturing the Human Experience: Essential Workers in the Meatpacking Industry and the Pandemic
Professional psychology, research and practice, Vol.53(1), pp.90-98
02/01/2022
DOI: 10.1037/pro0000432
Abstract
In this unprecedented (Corona Virus Disease) COVID-19 pandemic, psychologists from every country are faced with the challenge of dealing with the myriad grief and losses that are affecting the mental health of many people. Among the many who are suffering are "essential workers" in the United States meatpacking industry, who are forced to make a choice between working in an unsafe environment or becoming unemployed with no benefits. Many of these workers are people of color (POC) who encounter unrecognized challenges related to their contextual factors and intersectional identities. This article will discuss contextual and intersectional grief and losses experienced by these "essential workers" and how the confluence of their intersectional identities intensifies their pandemic grief and loss. Clinical implications include expansion of the definition of grief and loss beyond death to include experiences that are shaped by extensive contextual factors, work, and intersectional identities that have psychological and mental health implications. Special attention will be given to naming losses to identify the grief, followed by meaning-making and meaning-finding to adapt to changes in mourning. Finally, the addition of grief and loss training requirement to APA programs is advocated to further the values of social justice and incorporation of multiculturalism in the field.
Public Significance Statement This article spotlights the grief and loss experienced by workers in the meatpacking industry, who were deemed as "essential workers" during the pandemic. For more effective treatment, it suggests that in tandem with pandemic grief and loss, therapists also explore the different types of grief and losses these workers experience based on their specific contexts and multiple identities that may include some dimensions such as race, culture, gender, social class, sexuality, age, and immigration status.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Expanding the Constructs of Grief and Loss in Capturing the Human Experience: Essential Workers in the Meatpacking Industry and the Pandemic
- Creators
- Jae Young Kim - Univ Iowa, Dept Psychol & Quantitat Fdn, 361 Lindquist Ctr, Iowa City, IA 52242 USASaba Rasheed Ali - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Professional psychology, research and practice, Vol.53(1), pp.90-98
- Publisher
- Amer Psychological Assoc
- DOI
- 10.1037/pro0000432
- ISSN
- 0735-7028
- eISSN
- 1939-1323
- Number of pages
- 9
- Grant note
- University of Iowa's Distinguished Achievement in Publicly Engaged Research Award in 2017
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 02/01/2022
- Academic Unit
- Education Administration; Psychological and Quantitative Foundations
- Record Identifier
- 9984371260402771
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