Stress management among collective societies: The case of the Palestinian-Arabs in Israel

MENA Dubai 2003 Abstract

Author Marwan Dwairy
Copy While in the last decades stress management programs that included debriefing sessions were widely implemented, more recently some researchers have questioned the effectiveness of such debriefing. This manuscript questions specifically the effectiveness of debriefing in collective societies, which have different stress dynamics. Unlike in individualistic societies, the common stressors in these societies come from within and threaten the integrity of the collective identity. Debriefing, in this case, may escalate the conflict and lead to the fragmentation of the collective self. A culturally-sensitive modification of stress management programs is suggested. Central to this modification is the sectoral setting of the debriefing and the incorporation of conflict resolution skills and ideas from the incest model in the modified program. The case of Palestinian-Arabs in Israel is presented to clarify the cultural features of stress among collective societies and to exemplify the modifications suggested. More implementations are needed to modify and validate a model that fits collective societies. The author is a Palestinian psychologist living in Israel who established the first psychological services center among Palestinians in Israel in 1978.