Community Psychology
I. Definition
Definition
"Concerns the relationships of the
individual to communities and society.
Through collaborative research and action,
community psychologists seeks to
understand and enhance the quality of life
for individuals, communities, and society."
Community Psychology
II. Core Principles of
Community Psychology
Core Principles of Community
Psychology
Prevention Rather than Treatment.
– Advantages:
Emphasis on Strengths & Competencies.
– Going beyond a disease model toward an
emphasis on positive mental health.
Core Principles of Community
Psychology (cont…)
The Ecological Perspective.
– Bronfenbrenner's (1979) 5 levels of analysis:
individuals
microsystems (families, classrooms, residence halls)
organizations (schools, churches, neighborhood
associations)
communities (some geographic locality→small towns,
urban blocks,etc.)
macrosystems (the societal level).
– All of these levels influence each other, and none
of them can be understood in isolation.
Core Principles of Community
Psychology (cont…)
Respect for Diversity.
Core Principles of Community
Psychology (cont…)
Empowerment.
Importance of Social Change.
– "Therapy means political change, not peanut
butter."
Community Psychology
III. Understanding "a Sense of
Community"
What is a community?
Locality
– Based on proximity, not necessarily choice.
Relational Community
– Collective structures in which the members
possess a sense of community with each
other, but it is not necessarily based on
location.
What is a sense of community & is it
declining?
Definition
– "the perception of similarity to others, and acknowledged
interdependence with others, a willingness to maintain this
interdependence by giving to or doing for others what one
expects from them, the feeling that one is part of a larger
dependable and stable structure.“
Components (McMillan & Chavis):
–
–
–
–
Membership.
Influence.
Integration.
Emotional connection.
What is a sense of community & is
it declining? (cont…)
Neighborhood design and sense of
community.
– Plas & Lewis (1996).
– Pendola & Gen (2008).
Participation in on-line groups and sense
of community (e.g., Obst & Stafurik, 2010).
Community Psychology
IV. Brief History of Field
Brief History of the Field
Pre-industrialization.
The Era of Large State Hospitals.
Discontent with Existing Services for
Persons with Mental Illness.
– the 1950’s.
Thomas Szasz.
Brief History of the Field (cont…)
– the 1960’s.
The Community Mental Health Centers Act in 1963.
Swampscott, MA in May 1965= birth date of community
psychology.
Modern Community Psychology.
The emphasis is on more than just prevention of mental
illness.