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Psychology 348 Term 1 Summary
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PSYCHOLOGY 348JEFFEREY YEN — A history of ‘community’ and community psychology in S.A.
— INTRODUCTION
Two bene ts of a historical account of the development of community psychology to you as a student might be:
1. A historical account can throw light on the socially constructed nature of psychological terms and concepts we might take
for granted. A focus on the history of concepts such as ‘culture’ or even community itself can shed light on how current
connotations of the terms have come about, and raise our awareness of the possible ways our language may play a part
in legitimating or reproducing oppressive relations in our practice of community psychology. In other words, a historical
account might shed light on how the meanings and uses of these concepts have changed over time, opening up the
possibility that they do not have to continue to be thought of this way.
2. Community psychology is an amalgamation of concepts, ideas, and practices created by people and it does not exist
outside the social and historical conditions out of which it arose. Its methods and theories do not represent a timeless
collection of scienti c theories and techniques. A social/historical account of community psychology could help us to see
how certain ideas and trends in the sub-discipline have developed in response to social conditions, which allows us to re-
evaluate their appropriateness to current situations.
— THE LANGUAGE OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY
The term ‘community’ Is a political term, and it has been in a popular word in S.A. discourse. We use it to refer to the social
groups to which we feel we belong, or to those which we assume others belong. According to Yen, politicians, community
psychologists, and researchers refer to the community when talking about the targets of their interventions, and we assume
that we know who they are referring to. The term community usually has positive connotations and has been used to connote
various things: a democratic utopian ideal, or a sense of togetherness that we have lose in our social alienation from each
other. However, this is not always the case.
The term ‘community’ comprised a part of apartheid ideology, used to imply that so-called racial communities were naturally
(rather than socially) constructed, and were also fundamentally different from one another. ‘Community’ was deliberately
confused with legislated racial categories such that different racial communities were explained to be obviously different with
different cultures. This was fundamental to apartheid ideology as it explained racial divisions, expressing that racial
communities needed to be separated in order to progress and develop. Psychologists who were committed to working with
the community, and who employed these de nitions of community without questioning their origin, were criticised as being
unwittingly and tacitly supportive of apartheid-de ned racialised divisions.
Butchart and Seedat argued that the central tenets of the mental health model of community psychology complemented the
discourses of community applied in apartheid ideology. The mental health mode de ned community in terms of a
geographical location in which mental illness is to be prevented/treated. However, while social and environmental risk factors
that exist within the targeted community are addressed in prevention efforts, no consideration is given to the the effects of
broader political and economic conditions. Thus, it could be argued that the model ‘must be assisted to heal itself,’ thereby
providing some justi cation for the unequal distribution of mental health resources.
The effects of this history of the term community would be reproduced even when it was used with good intentions. Targeting
a community for psychological intervention will in itself lead to the importation of the historical and ideological precedents to
its alienation. As such, the term community is a potentially problematic one, not only because it has the potential to recall
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, PSYCHOLOGY 348
apartheid terminology and essentialist ideas of racial difference, while at other times implying a romanticised notion of
homogenous or uni ed communities.
— THE EMERGENCE OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY IN SOUTH AFRICA
Community psychology developed in the 1960s-70s as psychologists became increasingly concerned with unequal access to
treatment and resources, and the impact of social conditions on mental health. They began to develop models for intervention
that focused on the prevention of mental illness, or on changing the social conditions that were though to be the cause of
social/psychological dif culty. This required theoretical shifts in in psychology and new ways of conceptualising processes of
change as it would direct interventions at communities rather than individuals. In S.A., community psychology only
developed in the 1980s in response to conditions of oppression and exclusion. S.A. psychology had been largely supportive
of the status quo when it came to issues of race for most of its history (justi ed through psychology’s status as a neutral and
value-free scienti c discipline).
In the 1980s, academic psychologists began publicly to register their opposition to glaring racial disparities in S.A., and at
psychology’s failure to acknowledge or respond to these conditions. Importantly, they argued that the individualisation of
pathology served an ideological purpose, obscuring the need for sociopolitical change and locking those who deviated from
social norms into self-subjugating social narratives. Psychology in Society published numerous articles on what might now be
termed community psychology between 1983 and 1988. The journal reported on theoretical or methodological adaptations
to mainstream models of psychology, discussed the shortcomings of existing approaches to psychological intervention, and
debated the usefulness of approaches used in other contents. Moreover, it succeeded in providing a space for critical
discussion of alternative theories/views for the future of S.A. psychology.
— SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CONTEXT AND THE RESPONSE OF ORGANISED PSYCHOLOGY
S.A. community psychology emerged through an engagement with social psychological problems largely associated with
apartheid society. These engagements came as part of a broader, progressive political movement in the country. The 1980s in
S.A. were a period of social and political activism, which also saw the apartheid state at its most brutal. Civic and non-
governmental organisations ourished during this time, representing increasingly organised protest, often in a struggle for
more equitable access to resources. As the number of activist becoming victims of state persecution increased, as did the
concern with accessing/providing mental health care for these survivors. Progressive grouping of anti-apartheid health care
professionals began to form, including:
- Psychology against Apartheid (PA) group
- Organisation for Appropriate Social Services in South Africa (OASSSA). OASSSA provided services such as trauma
counselling training, psychological support for those trying to avoid compulsory military conscription, returning exiles,
etc.
NGOs played a crucial role in the development of community psychology in S.A. Such organisations are often formed by and
consist of community members, and are usually at the forefront of service provision and contact with community structures
and representatives. It is often through such organisations that community psychologists interact with community members.
However, the differences in needs, goals, and access to power between psychologists and community members draw
attention to the need for psychologists to re ect on their contradictory social positioning as privileged professionals and their
social distance from those they hope to assist. Many psychologists at the time debated how to negotiate between the different
‘class’ interests of community members and professional psychologists attempting to work together.
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, PSYCHOLOGY 348
As the notion of community psychology became more fashionable within the discipline of S.A., there were some who were
cautious. Some warned about the development of a separate branch of community psychology, which allowed mainstream
psychology to continue practising in the same way and with the same people. Community psychology would then be for poor,
black South Africans.
— DEMOCRATIC CHANGE AND THE INSTITUTIONALISATION OF COMMUNITY
PSYCHOLOGY
The transitions to a democratic regime in 1994 brought major transformations in S.A. psychology and an upsurge of
community-orientated interventions and research projects (linked to efforts of gov and NGOs at transforming mental health
care provision). This period also saw the dissolution of the white-dominated PASA, replaced by a new, inclusive Psychological
Society of South Africa (PsySSA). Community psychologists began working with, rather than in opposition to, governmental
structures. University psychology departments began to offer courses in community psychology, and psychologists began to
apply themselves to pressing social and mental health issues, such as violence, trauma, child development, and substance
abuse. New groupings of NGOs began to emerge, particularly in response to the need for mental health services for ex-
political prisoners, returning exiles, and other survivors. NGOs offering psychological services to these groupings included the
Trauma Centre, the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, and Khulumani.
Broad changes in recent years served to further the growth and institutionalisation of S.A. community psychology. Courses in
community psychology are now offered by most universities at different levels, and some psychology departments now offer
speci c professional training programmes in Community Counselling Psychology. Community psychologists around the
country are also beginning to collaborate in greater numbers and an informal network now exists and meets regularly.
However, there are still some concerns that the increasing institutionalisation of community psychology further distances
psychologists from ordinary people, and serves the professional or guild interests of psychologists themselves better than it
does the poor, oppressed and marginalised in S.A.
— THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL ROOTS OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY
The theoretical roots of community psychology can be traced back to the work of Kurt Lewin, who
attempted to theorise behaviour as a function of both person and social environment. Psychology
emphasises the ‘self-contained individual’ as the source of action and therefore pathology, and
consequently as the target of intervention. Change has thus predominantly been conceptualised
at the level of the individual. However, a large number of community psychological interventions
still depart from this premise, particularly those situated within a mental health model.
Community psychologists wanting to provide alternatives to the ideology of individual based pathology needed to
conceptualise the ways in which social conditions and individuals interacted. A number of S.A. psychologists have developed
approaches to community psychology that combine the theories of politically radical writers in attempts to overcome the
theoretical dualisms separating the individual and society. These approaches emphasise concepts such as dialogue,
conscientisation, community participation and empowerment. Others have made use of systems theory, psychoanalytic
theory, and feminist and post-structural theory. Today, community psychology is characterised by substantial theoretical
diversity, which has been a major advantage in terms of stimulating creativity and innovation in the kinds of intervention
community psychologists carry out.
— CONCLUSION
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, PSYCHOLOGY 348
Community psychology in S.A. has had a relatively short and turbulent history. It has been able to combine the skills and
theoretical perspectives of various disciplines and sectors of society, and to link with community organisations and members
in its interventions. While community psychology is now very much a part of academic and professional psychology in S.A., it
has yes to show show a major impact in terms of altering mainstream psychology’s continuing emphasis on traditional clinical
paradigms and issues, and its neglect of perspectives that theorise the individual within the socio-political context. We need
to be aware of how the establishment of community psychology as a separate sub-discipline has allowed mainstream S.A.
psychology to continue as usual, thereby implying that other branches of psychology do not serve any ‘community.’
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