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The efforts of containing the novel virus (COVID-19) have now begun to show signs of psychological impact on societies across the globe. Social distancing and awareness campaigns can be double-edged sword, if handled inadequately. Herein, authors have shed light on the favorable and unfavorable aspects of living under lockdown. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).Collective trauma, like the COVID-19 pandemic, can dramatically alter how we perceive time and view our futures. Indeed, the pandemic has challenged us to cope with an ambiguous, invisible threat that has changed our way of life and made our futures, both near and far, less certain. In this commentary, we review existing literature on time perception in the context of stress and trauma and discuss its implications for mental health and well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).As the spread of COVID-19 has led to global efforts to social distance, concerns about the negative psychological effects of social isolation and loneliness have grown. The purpose of this commentary is to draw attention to 2 populations across the life span at risk for the psychological sequelae of social isolation and loneliness young adults and old-old adults. We present data from three population-based longitudinal studies from two nations (United States and Sweden) to support this view. We then provide recommendations for the prevention of loneliness during social distancing as well as after social distancing measures are eased through implementation of programs that match young adults with older adults to foster intergenerational connection and group-based psychotherapy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).The mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are particularly relevant in African-American communities because African-Americans have been disproportionately impacted by the disease, yet they are traditionally less engaged in mental health treatment compared with other racial groups. Using the state of Michigan as an example, we describe the social and psychological consequences of the pandemic on African-American communities in the United States, highlighting community members' concerns about contracting the disease, fears of racial bias in testing and treatment, experiences of sustained grief and loss, and retraumatization of already-traumatized communities. Furthermore, we describe the multilevel, community-wide approaches that have been used thus far to mitigate adverse mental health outcomes within our local African-American communities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).Mental health clinicians and researchers must be prepared to address the unique needs of Black Americans who have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Race-conscious and culturally competent interventions that consider factors such as discrimination, distrust of health care providers, and historical and racial trauma as well as protective factors including social support and culturally sanctioned coping strategies are needed. Research to accurately assess and design treatments for the mental health consequences of COVID-19 among Black Americans is warranted. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).This article presents an overview of what has been done in Portugal to curb the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), regarding public health actions, mental health implications, and measures taken or recommended to prevent the harmful effects of the pandemic. Because Portugal has been pointed out as a case of success in managing the COVID-19 pandemic, this report offers opportunities to build on the experience gained, which may positively influence other countries, especially those that are still deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. click here (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).Dying is a natural part of life; however, death is often a fearful, frightening event. Dying in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic presents challenges that magnify normative fears and may interfere with a healthy grieving process. To maintain a resilient spirit among those who are at risk of losing a loved one or who have lost a family member to COVID-19, it is important that they be provided with the necessary contextually and culturally appropriate skills and resources to facilitate healing in the face of hardship and uncertainty. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).The circumstances of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-related deaths embed multiple traumatic characteristics, alongside several external factors that can disenfranchise individual grief. In this context, severe forms of traumatic distress, guilt, somatization, regret, anger, and unspecific symptoms not yet included in prolonged grief disorder (PGD) criteria could emerge. This article (a) analyzes factors related to bereavement in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic; (b) proposes avenues for meaning-making practices to facilitate individual and collective mourning process; and (c) invites clinicians to pay attention to the traumatic characteristics of COVID-19-related deaths adopting a holistic approach of PGD clinical manifestations, as well as in evaluation and treatment of cases. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many school districts have closed for the remainder of the academic year. These closures are unfortunate because, for many students, schools are their only source of trauma-informed care and supports. When schools reopen, they must develop a comprehensive plan to address the potential mental health needs of their students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).This paper discusses how positive emotions can help maintain and improve mental health during the COVID-19 outbreak, taking into account examples of social interaction and positive psychology research efforts in Japanese context. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).The COVID-19 crisis can be defined as a collective trauma, which contributes to an upheaval of community connection and functioning. The current pandemic has also illuminated disparities in mental health supports. In this commentary, we highlight one community organization, located in metro Detroit, that has responded to the trauma by bolstering resources and supports for residents, many of whom are ethnoracial minorities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).Objective The present study aimed to explore the lived experience of the spontaneous creation in art by Holocaust survivor artists, and to gain new insight into the way creative engagement may relate to survivors' traumatic past. Method Following the phenomenological paradigm of qualitative research, semistructured interviews were conducted with 30 Holocaust survivor visual artists residing in Israel (Mage = 80.6, SD = 5.5). Data were analyzed enabling the capture of various "lived experiences," aiming to establish an insider's conceptualization, understanding the essence of the phenomenon and identification of multiple meanings. Results Expressions clustered around two major themes. The first-Turning outward from a world of threat to a world at which to wonder-that describes how, beyond the enduring inner world of abandonment and threat, enhanced through art is a realm of wonderment at the world beyond the self. The second-Connecting with the world and others through creative experience-relating to modes of moving outward in art toward an emotional experience of connection. Conclusions Discussion of these themes pointed to the emotional state of self-transcendence as fundamental to survivors' artistic experience, and suggests how this may relate to their enduring struggle with trauma; thus, shedding new light on the redeeming potential of art in the face of trauma. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).In previous President's Columns (Valeras, 2019a, 2019b), the properties of complexity and complex adaptive systems have been discussed, in terms of the value of continual and iterative change, in order to nudge a system to emerge differently, rather than maintain the status quo. COVID-19 is not a nudge; it is a tidal wave. Engaging with and understanding complexity science allows us to examine the internal rules of our health care system and recognize our own role as agents that can systematically and deliberately disrupt the status quo. The intertwined and interdependent complex relationships that exist in health care between persons, business, academia, and government buffer the system from rapid and drastic change. COVID-19, however, swiftly disrupted many of the rules keeping the system in its previous state. Some would describe this sudden and dramatic systems change as a Black Swan. This column will examine the role of the Black Swan, as it relates to this pandemic. The Black Swan is a term coined in the 2nd century by Roman poet Juvenal's description of something being rara avis in terries nigroque simillima cygno, Latin for "a bird as rare as the black swan" (Taleb, 2007, p. xxxi). At this time, reference to a black swan was meant as a statement of impossibility, because all historical records of swans had been white. In 1697, Dutch explorers discovered black swans living in the wild in Western Australia (Taleb, 2007, p. xxi), and the black swan became a metaphor for events that come as a surprise, have major implications, and can often be understood only with the benefit of hindsight. This theory of the black swan was further articulated by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his books Fooled by Randomness (Taleb, 2001) and The Black Swan (Taleb, 2007). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).This poem is about an elderly client trapped in an abusive relationship. The client has a history of complex trauma and suffers from major depression. During the course of our sessions, she started cutting herself. As her psychotherapist, I was concerned that she may be regressing. I struggled to appreciate the reason for her self-mutilation and redirected her attention from the past to the present. As we processed her trauma, this poem was my attempt to help her gain insight into her cutting behavior and her triggers regarding the opposite sex. My goal was for the client to practice dual awareness and envision a future in which she was in control of herself. Accordingly, I shared the poem with her during our sessions. Following this, she wrote a letter to me stating that, for the first time in her life, she felt seen and understood. Also, in the letter, she indicated that my voice echoed in her brain and that every day she was "getting a little bit stronger." (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).Presents a poem about a hospitalized patient who continues to smoke cigarettes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).The majority of sickle cell disease (SCD) patients suffer from numerous health problems like chronic pain and anemia. Oftentimes these patients require emergency health care, including unscheduled blood transfusions to treat or prevent severe complications accompanied with SCD. This poem explores a Black SCD patient's experiences with implicit and explicit biases among health care providers as a person with this type of condition seeks emergency care. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).