Orly Sarid
Prof. Orly Sarid: Coping, caring, and meaning in the face of adversity
Orly Sarid is a Full Professor (since 2018) at the Department of Social Work at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
She earned her B.S.W. (1985) and M.S.W. (1990) from Tel Aviv University, where her master’s thesis examined attitudes of Jewish Israelis toward minority groups. She completed her Ph.D. at Ben-Gurion University, studying the effects of academic stress on physiological and emotional responses. At Ben-Gurion University, Prof. Sarid has served as Head of the Department of Social Work (2019–2023), member of the University Senate, and participant in committees on ethics, graduate studies, and faculty development.
An interdisciplinary researcher and clinical social worker, she investigates how individuals and communities cope with traumatic life events, chronic stress, and loss, and how these coping processes influence psychological meaning making and physical well-being. She collaborates with immunologists, physicians, and historians to explore how biological, emotional, and cultural dimensions interact in shaping human responses to stress and coping.
Her research highlights the sociocultural foundations of coping, showing how women’s traditional social roles of caring for others influence their ways of managing distress. In studies of civilians evacuated from conflict zones, she identified distinct gender-specific coping patterns: women were more likely to cope through empathy, caregiving, and helping others, actions that generate meaning and strengthen social connection, while men tended to rely on cognitive control and problem-focused strategies.
The concept of coping through helping others is central to Prof. Sarid’s work.
One of her current projects (supported by the Israel Science Foundation) examines life-writing by Holocaust survivors, revealing how acts of assisting others provided meaning and resilience even in the most extreme circumstances. These narratives demonstrate that altruism and solidarity can preserve identity and dignity in the aftermath of profound loss.
Prof. Sarid’s broader research (supported by the Helmsley Charitable Trust) develops and evaluates cognitive-behavioural and mindfulness-based interventions that strengthen adaptation among individuals living with Crohn’s disease. Her findings show that daily practice of these techniques reduces distress and pain, enhances problem-solving coping, and leads to decreased illness-related symptoms and improves well-being.
