Survival of the Interventionist: The Personal Cost of Immersion and Social Change
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v1i1.13Keywords:
personal distress, community psychologists, social change, study abroad, education abroadAbstract
This article explores the personal distress that interventionists-community psychologists and others whose work requires immersion in a foreign culture-must survive. Considering that an interventionist acts to bring about social change, the article asks whether the issue of burnout has been adequately addressed. This is particularly critical with projects operating abroad because team members must simultaneously learn about and facilitate change within a new culture. Such traumas may not be considered adequately when designing a project and anticipating the shape of the intervention. Furthermore, they historically may not have been considered relevant to reporting findings.
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