Psychologists help people cope with feelings of alienation by developing exercises or designing specific tasks to help the person become more engaged in society. For example, by identifying the alienated individual’s
true feelings, the psychologist may suggest a volunteer activity or a job change to bring the individual into contact with society in a way that has meaning for him or her.
Some have proposed treating the epidemic of alienation among America’s young people by fostering social solutions rather than individual solutions. One such social solution is the idea of communitarianism, a movement begun early in the 1990s by Amitai Etzioni, a sociology professor from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Etzioni became a popular speaker and writer in the mid-1990s with the publication of his book, The Spirit of Community. Etzioni advocates a return to community values to replace the rampant alienation of contemporary culture, education to reinforce shared societal morals focusing on family values, and strictly enforcing
anti-crime measures. This movement has met serious criticism, however; civil libertarian groups are concerned about communitarian beliefs that certain rights can and should be restricted for the good of the community.
Further Reading
D’Antonio, Michael. “I or We.” Mother Jones (May-June 1994): 20+.
Foster, Hal. “Cult of Despair.” New York Times (30 December 1994): A3.
Guinness, Alma, ed. ABCs of the Human Mind. Pleasantville, NY: Reader’s Digest Association, 1990.
Jackson, Richard. “Alone in the Crowd: Breaking the Isolation of Childhood.” School Library Journal (November 1995): 24.
Upton, Julia. “A Generation of Refugees.” The Catholic World (September-October 1995): 204+.
See also Loss and grief
Taken from : The Gale Encyclopedia Of Psychology 2ND Edition - Bonnie Strickland