COVID-19 PANDEMIC: CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES OF PSYCHOLOGISTS FROM INDIA

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mother earth and every life it supports has highlighted the role and significance of psychology. Urging the public to learn to comply with physical distancing, helping people to cope with their distress during isolation, and the stigma towards those who are identified as positive are some of the challenges faced. After the initial shock of the pandemic, people are slowly getting into a different phase of realization. What emerges next is not known. Preparedness can help to cope with what may come up. The Centre for Applied Psychological Studies (CAPS), Thiruvananthapuram sent out an invitation to the psychology community through the e-groups of psychologists and through social media requesting articles on the major theme, ‘Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges of Indian Psychologists’ on May 15, 2020. To motivate the students and professionals, prizes to the top 3 entries were also offered. The option to write on 14 sub- themes was given. CAPS sought any Indian Citizen, living in India or abroad and a psychologist or student of psychology or who has studied psychology to respond. CAPS received 29 submissions and selected 5 of them for publication. In addition, 4 reports of action programs of different national psychological associations in India, Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, Indian Association of Clinical Psychologists, and regional associations Tamil Nadu Association of Clinical Psychologists and Chennai Counselors Forum are also included. CAPS also invited professionals and experts from different areas of specializations to write on their perspectives in relation to COVID-19 pandemic and 16 responded. Though diverse, one can find an ‘invisible blend’ of thoughts. Some of the work executed by psychologists in India and their perspectives are made available in the public domain as a document of reference for the upcoming psychologists. I hope that this volume would help those who are researching psychological responses to COVID-19 to get a glimpse of the perspectives. 1. Psychologists from India Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Overview L. S. S. Manickam, Dr. Annie John,M. A. Debora, Dr. Preethi Krishnan and Dr. J. Jasseer 2. Refining Psychological Services and Strategies in India in the wake of COVID-19 S. N. Anindya, M. A. Debora and L. S. S. Manickam 3. Responding to COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges of Indian Psychologists Kalpna and Dr. NovRattan Sharma 4. Socio-Emotional Responses Within and Outside Family Boundaries During COVID-19 Dr. Anagha Lavalekar 5. COVID-19 and Migrant Workers: Clinical Psychologists’ Viewpoints Asima Mishra and Dr. Neha Sayeed 6. Supporting Students and the School Community During a Pandemic Dr. Annie John 7. Promoting Well-Being and Resilience of Young People During COVID-19: An Initiative with Schools Dr. Chetna Duggal and Lamia Bagasrawala 8. COVID-19 the Pandemic and People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Dr. S. Venkatesan 9. Outbreak of Corona: Gifted Response Dr. Sujala Watve 10. Psychologist’s Mind on Missing Beats of an Expatriate Life Reena Thomas 11. Locked or Unlocked: Two Sides of the Coin Aarzoo 12. ‘The Return of the Repressed’ in COVID-19: The Need for Intervention at Socio-Cultural Inscape Dr. Paulson V. Veliyannoor 13. Tomato or Tennis Ball? Tips for Coping with Corona Resiliently and Helping Others Psychologically Dr. B.J. Prashantham 14. Self-Talk to Change Your Perceived Reality Dr. Manju Agrawal 15. Role of Psychologists in Dealing with Triple Disaster Situation During COVID-19 Pandemic Dr. Prasanta Kumar Roy 16. Psychological Response to COVID-19 Pandemic: Views of an Indian born Australian Counsellor Sunita Jitendra Gaud 17. Reclaiming New Horizons: Therapist of 2020 Pandemic Era Dr. Prerna Sharma 18. Contributions and Challenges of Psychologists in Private Practice in India and their Responses to COVID-19 Dr. Dherandra Kumar 19. Telepsychotherapy: The Bridge to Continuity in Care and Mental Health Services in COVID-19 and Post Covid Era Smriti Joshi 20. An Experiment with Online Group Counseling 182 during COVID-19 D. S. L. Amulya 21. Indian Academy of Applied Psychology (IAAP): Vocal Voice on Local to Global Perspectives of Psychological Services Dr. NovRattan Sharma 22. Tamil Nadu Association of Clinical Psychologists (TNACP) Responding to COVID-19 Pandemic Dr. N. Suresh Kumar, Srinivasan Jayaraman and Dr. K. Rangaswamy 23. A Paradigm Shift: Changes, Challenges and Way Forward S. Divyaprabha, N. Ganesh, S. Kalpana, R. Nandini, S. Bhaskar, R. Suryakumar and Dr. T. R. Uma 24. COVID -19 Pandemic: A Time for Prudent and Ethical Action L. S. S. Manickam