Psychological research on COVID-19: a lesson to learn

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on our work, relationships, and habits. This has also been reflected in psychological research, where the efforts of many scholars, including our research team, have been redirected on the psychological effects of the pandemic. After one year and a half from the beginning of the pandemic, we may learn some lessons from such psychological research. Method: Within this symposium, we will review basic research conducted by our groups on the psychological effects of the pandemic, to identify some key points that may serve for a better understanding on how dynamic and clinical psychology (DCP) might be helpful in the development of a healthier society. Results. The following key points were extrapolated: (1) DCP is critical for better contextualizing and modeling the perceived distress during difficult times (research on fear and anxiety); (2) DCP is also critical for avoiding the pathologization of normal responses to distressing situations (research on depression, anxiety, excessive gaming and social media use, binge watching); (3) finally, DCP is critical for identifying at-risk groups that may need clinical interventions and for tailoring the specific objectives of these interventions (research on maladaptive daydreaming). Conclusions: As the COVID-19 pandemic is hopefully passing by, there is an important lesson to learn from the cumulative research conducted on this topic: sometimes we can - and perhaps we should - direct our common research efforts where there is a societal need to properly intervene for improving the quality of life of people. When this is the case, our remuneration extends much beyond academic recognition, reaching the core of the society and its definitive understanding of a need for psychological approach to collective issues.