100% satisfaction guarantee Immediately available after payment Both online and in PDF No strings attached
logo-home
Summary Psychology 348 Reading Summaries R120,00   Add to cart

Summary

Summary Psychology 348 Reading Summaries

 67 views  2 purchases

Comprehensive summaries made from all the readings

Preview 4 out of 104  pages

  • April 3, 2021
  • 104
  • 2019/2020
  • Summary
All documents for this subject (10)
avatar-seller
dopenotes
Dope Notes

Psychology 348
Psychological Interventions

Week 1
Reading: A history of ‘community’ and
community psychology in South Africa
These summaries are made directly from the readings.
For additional background and definitions, and to avoid over studying, please consult
the slides while studying from these notes.




Please note that redistribution of this document without the owner’s permission is illegal.
www.dopenotes.co.za

,INTRODUCTION
 2 reasons to study a historical account of the development of community psychology:
o To shine light on the socially constructed nature of psychological terms and
concepts,
- Can shed light on how current connotations of the terms have come
about, and raise awareness of the ways language plays a part in our
practice of community psychology,
- How meanings and uses of concepts have changed over time
o Individuals & communities must be understood in relation to their social and
historical concepts,
- Can help us see how certain ideas and trends in the sub-discipline
have developed in response to social conditions,
- And thereby help us re-evaluate their appropriateness to current
problems


THE LANGUAGE OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY
“Community”:

 We use it to refer to social groups to which we feel we / others belong
 Referred to when talking about targets of interventions (by politicians, researchers,
community psychologists)
 Generally positive connotations: something that is good, should be pursued &
supported
 “Sense of community” = a sense of togetherness
 HOWEVER, not as inconspicuous as it seems
 In Apartheid, ‘community’ was deliberately confused with legislated racial categories
to separate ‘racial communities’ from each other
o Apartheid government used ‘community’ interchangeably with race, nation,
peoples, etc. = implied these communities were natural (not socially
constructed) categories of people who differed from each other
o Central to the government’s justification of inequalities in resources and
power between these groups


The implications of this kind of language in community psychology:

 Argued by Butchart and Seedart in 1990:
 Central principles of the mental health model of community psychology
complimented the views of community employed in apartheid ideology
 Mental health model defines community i.t.o geographical location and aims to
prevent mental illness within that catchment area
 No consideration given to the effects of broader political & economic conditions
 Because of this, it was sometimes implied within the mental health model the
community must be ‘assisted to heal itself’
o Thereby providing justification for the unequal distribution of mental health
resources

Please note that redistribution of this document without the owner’s permission is illegal.
www.dopenotes.co.za

,  Argued that the effects of this history of the term community would be reproduced
even when it was used with good intentions
o Language of community also used in 1970s by Black Consciousness
Movement, to ignite sense of solidarity among African, coloureds, Indians –
referring to all 3 as the Black Community
o Term was used at other times to refer to apartheid-imposed communities
(townships created by forced removal)
o Butchart and Seedat argued:
The emphasis on community empowerment and pride in communities created
artificially through the Group Areas Act reproduced the racial categories that
they wanted to oppose

 The term community is a potentially problematic one
o It has the potential to recall apartheid terminology and ideas of racial
differences
o Implies a romanticised notion of homogenous or unified communities


THE EMERGENCE OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY IN SOUTH AFRICA
 In SA, the sub-discipline of community psychology developed in response of
oppression and exclusion, but rather late (in comparison to USA)
 SA psychology had been largely silent about, and even actively supportive of the
status quo i.t.o racism
o This stance was justified through psychology’s insistence on its status as a
neutral scientific discipline
o Psychologists who were serious about the socio-political context in SA were
accused of practicing politics rather than psychology

 In the 1980s, academic psychologists began publicly opposing the racial disparities
in SA society, and psychology’s failure to acknowledge or respond to these social
conditions
o Focus on the individual as the object of psychological intervention was
criticised

BOURGEOIS COUNSELLING IN A SOUTH AFRICAN TOWNSHIP:
Counselling service in a Johannesburg Township in mid 70s which eventually failed:
Primary reason for failure:

 the theoretical model guiding counsellor’s work didn’t take into account the
adverse social conditions leading to clients going for counselling
 Counsellors had been trained in person-centred approach
o individualist bias encouraged clients to focus on self-actualisation /
adapting to unjust circumstances,
instead of taking action to change them




Please note that redistribution of this document without the owner’s permission is illegal.
www.dopenotes.co.za

, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CONTEXT AND THE RESPONSE OF ORGANISED
PSYCHOLOGY
 SA community psychology began as a loose and diverse collection of approaches
that emerged through an engagement with social psychological problems largely
associated with apartheid society
 As more political activists became victims of state torture / detention, many NGOs
representing organised protest concerned themselves with providing mental health
care for the survivors

 Groupings of anti-apartheid health-care professionals began to form, two that played
significant roles in the development of community psychology were:
o Psychology against Apartheid group (PA)
o Organisation for Appropriate Social Services in South Africa (OASSSA)

 OASSSA provided mental health support services to ex-detainees, their families, and
also provided basic training in trauma counselling, and provided psychological
support for returning exiles

 NGOs played (and still play) crucial role in development of community psych:
o formed by & consist of community members
o at the forefront of service provision
o it is often through NGOs that community psychologists interact with
community members
o However, the differences in needs, goals and access to power between
psychologists and community members draw attention to the need for
psychologists to reflect on their contradictory social positioning as privileged
professionals and their social distance from those they hope to assist

 Some argued that the development of community psychology allowed mainstream
psychology to continue practising in the same way, for the same people.




Please note that redistribution of this document without the owner’s permission is illegal.
www.dopenotes.co.za

The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.

Quick and easy check-out

Quick and easy check-out

You can quickly pay through EFT, credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.

Focus on what matters

Focus on what matters

Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!

Frequently asked questions

What do I get when I buy this document?

You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.

Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?

Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.

Who am I buying this summary from?

Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller dopenotes. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.

Will I be stuck with a subscription?

No, you only buy this summary for R120,00. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.

Can Stuvia be trusted?

4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)

84866 documents were sold in the last 30 days

Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy summaries for 14 years now

Start selling
R120,00  2x  sold
  • (0)
  Buy now