Dr Victor Counted

Victor Counted, PhD

Dr Vic Counted studies various aspects of psychosocial, psychospiritual, and environmental processes that sustain health, community well-being, and human connection. He has a PhD in Psychology (Western Sydney University, Australia) and a second PhD in Religious Studies (University of Groningen, Netherlands). Dr Counted is also a social entrepreneur, lecturer, christian clergy, author, and speaker. He currently lives in Sydney with his wife Jessie and son Ikemba.

HEALTH & WELL-BEING

Key areas: minority health, migrant quality of life, suffering, mental health, human flourishing, psychological well-being, social relationships, spiritual well-being, environmental health;

ADULT ATTACHMENT

Key research topics: place attachment, religious/spiritual attachment, attachment with adult caregivers, attachment psychopathology, attachment & radicalization;

RELIGION/SPIRITUALITY

Key interests: religious coping, spiritual struggles, religion & wellbeing, religion & place, spiritual care, God representations, relational spirituality, attachment-religion framework, African diaspora religion, religion & migration, religious psychopathology;

ENVIRONMENT & BEHAVIOR

Expertise: sense of place, community belonging, place attitudes, place attachment, sacred places, pro-environmental behaviors;

MIGRATION & INTEGRATION

Interests: migration & health, religion & migration, migrant social integration, sense of belonging, African diaspora, acculturation strategies

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Research topics: coping, self-transcendence, authenticity, resilience, hope, well-being, meaning-making, character strengths.

v.counted[at]westernsydney.edu.au

connect[at]victorcounted.org

New Books (2021)

Springer (October 2021) This book rekindles the well-known connection between people and place in the context of a global pandemic. The chapters are divided into two sections. In the first section, “Place Attachment During a Pandemic,” we review the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the extent of its impact on place attachment and human-environment interactions. We examine how restrictions in mobility and environmental changes can have a significant psychological burden on people who are dealing with the effect of place attachment disruption that arises during a pandemic. In the second section, “Adjusting to Place Attachment Disruption During and After a Pandemic,” we focus on adaptive processes and responses that could enable people to adjust positively to place attachment disruption. We conclude the book by discussing the potential for pro-environmental behavior to promote place attachment and flourishing in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic by introducing an integrative framework of place flourishing and exploring its implications for theory, research, policy, and practice.

Place and Post-Pandemic Flourishing

Lexington Books (August 2021) There is an undoubted movement of thought towards a restatement of radicalization and extremism along the lines of recent psychological achievements. This has already taken place, to a large extent, in social and behavioral sciences where concepts such as religion, place, and people are discussed as objects of attachment. This book examines the expressions of attachment-related radicalization. It argues that radicalization is rooted in experiences of disrupted attachment in religion, places, or with people who are perceived as sources of security. The book treats the subject of radicalization with great insight and empathy and interprets it in the light of recent cases of radicalization around the world.

The Roots of Radicalization