Professional Behavior during Conditions of Extreme Community Turmoil: The Case of the Removal of Settlements from Sinai

Abstract

This article reports an informal study of six human services professionals who conducted research and practice in Israeli settlements in Sinai during the settlements' evacuation, which was required by the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty. The author presents a model of three strategies of professional behavior that can guide human service professionals and social researchers during instances of extreme community turmoil (1) disregarding the crisis and following one's usual professional routines, (2) relinquishing one's professional stance and becoming personally immersed in the catastrophe, or (3) modifying one's behavior to suit the abnormal conditions. From retrospective interviews with the professionals, the author finds that the practitioners chose the first strategy and the researchers the third Professional, situational and personal circumstances for these choices are analyzed, and the author recommends further elaboration of the model and an assessment of the comparative productivity of alternative strategies.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Benyamini, K. (1971). Trials facing the psychologist away from the clinic. Professional Psychology, 2, 255-258.

Benyamini, K. (1985). Psychologists on the track and in the field: Introduction to "professional outdoors." In D. Bar-Tal (Ed.), Psychology and counseling in education: Annual 1984 (pp. 45-53). Tel Aviv: Otsar Hamoreh. (Hebrew)

Cowen, E. L. , Lorion, R. P. , & Dorr, D. (1974). Research in the community cauldron: A case history. The Canadian Psychologist, 15, 313-325.

Freilich, M. (1970). Toward a formalization of field work. In M. Freilich (Ed.), Marginal natives Anthropologists at work (pp. 485-585). New York: Harper & Row.

Harries-Jenkins, G. (1970). Professionals in organizations. In J. A. Jackson (Ed.), Professions and professionalization (pp. 53-88). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Heller, K. , & Monahan, M. (1977). Psychology and community change. Homewood, IL: Dorsey Press.

Rappaport, J. , & Chinsky, J. M. (1974). Models for the delivery of service from a historical and conceptual perspective. Professional Psychology, 5, 42-50.

Sarbin, T. R. (1970). A role-theory perspective for community psychology: The structure of social identity. In A. Adelson & B. L. Kallis (Eds.), Community psychology and mental health Perspectives and challenges (pp. 89-113). Scranton, PA: Chandler.