Job Loss and Shared Trauma During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Helping Clients and the Impact on the Clinician

Abstract

With widespread business shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the US economy, along with economies around the world, has entered a recession. Unemployment numbers have surged, and millions of Americans have found themselves out of work amid the largest pandemic in a century; for these people, anxiety over their own health and that of their loved ones is compounded by financial worry and anxiety over their place in society or in their family. Under such circumstances, long-suppressed trauma often makes itself known, and many job seekers wrestle with paralyzing crises of confidence. This chapter looks at the particular difficulties of coaching unemployed clients to find jobs during the coronavirus pandemic and concomitant recession. It discusses ways in which sustained unemployment can beget feelings of confusion and helplessness, and suggests a multi-step method for restoring clients’ sense of control, helping them communicate their strengths to potential employers and ultimately succeed in obtaining new employment while increasing their sense of agency and self-worth.