Nonpossessive caring during the two pandemics

Abstract

In this manuscript, a new theoretical model is applied to analyze the effects of the early 2020s’ dual pandemics: the coronavirus and anti-Black racial violence pandemics. Grounded in humanistic–existential principles, the nonpossessive caring model emphasizes relational structures, relational caring, and relational nonpossession. The model is applied to the coronavirus pandemic's challenges, such as balancing disease mitigation and the interpersonal control. Through the lens of relational structures, the anti-Black racial violence pandemic is analyzed, examining privilege and oppression's role in shaping police–community dynamics. Nonpossessive caring principles are relevant in policing, supporting Black community members’ experiences, fostering police cultures of directed attention, cultivating curiosity, and valuing community input. This manuscript contributes to existential and humanistic counseling by addressing autonomy and responsibility tensions, offering guidance on existential responsibility amid mandates, and emphasizing marginalized communities’ subjective experiences.