Wednesday, 26 July 2023
Psychology 348: Online Lecture
Community Psychology:
• Challenges conditions of oppression and inequality that cause ill-health
and well-being
• Developed as a reaction to the inability of traditional clinical psychology to
address the psychosocial problems of people
• Give a wider scope to psychology bye cousin on the community processes
an interventions
• Deal with problems at multiple levels of the community
Reading 1 Discussion : Community
Psychology_South African Praxis_Chapter 1 -
Community Psychology pp 1-17_Visser et al
• developed in the USA in the 1960s and 1970s
• Dissatisfied with mental health services
• The social action model developed, focusing on addressing social issues
such as poverty, unemployment, etc
• Used the ecological perspective as a conceptual framework to approach
community issues
• Programmes directed at improving individual, group and social system
functioning
,• CP developed in reaction to the sociopolitical context in which it is
implemented
• Liberation struggles in Latin America influenced development of
community psychology
• Worked towards social and political change
In South Africa:
• in the 1980s academic psychologists began to oppose racial disparities in
South Africa
• Working in context political instability and violence
• Force for social change
• Trauma counselling, collaboration with community, groups and
organisations
Video: Political unrest and Violence, The Trojan House Incident
• the lady tag spoke before, said that there is trauma in a sort of
generational lock that we still need to address and it so true because even
today we see the effects of apartheid in our family members and friends
and truly still needs to be addressed because there has also developed a
pattern of ‘passing down’ the trauma in different way that is rooted in the
previous generations unresolved trauma
• How people in apartheid dealt with trauma, is that they were not aware of
the trauma, it only manifested after
• And its passing down in a way to our generation, in that our parents did
not necessarily know what their trauma was and so for example with
gangsterism in communities, we also experience trauma, but do not yet
see it as trauma
,Week 1 Reading Summary
Reading 1: Community Psychology_South African
Praxis_Chapter 1 - Community Psychology pp 1-
17_Visser et al
Community participation
• a series of consultative meetings was set up with clinic staff
• This was done to establish links with and the participation of potential
partners, and to identify resources in the community
• In addition, the team aimed to understand the context of this community
and identify resources in the community and social factors underlying
psychological problems (causes of causes): history, socioeconomic
conditions, and risk and resilience factors
• Concerned with the youth of Jamestown:
• Their susceptibility to alcohol and substance abuse, unplanned
pregnancies, the influence of youth gangs
• Problems fundamentally rooted in an unequal system
Interventions
(To address the needs and to empower the community)
• counselling and psychological services at local clinic
• Prevention and health promotion programmes for children at schools
• Youth diversion programmes for boys and girls engaging in risky
behaviour, to provide them with new experiences and opportunities to
counteract prevailing adverse social influences
• Workshops for healthcare works, teachers, and community mentors to
contribute to youth development
Jamestown Community Project (JCP) - ( case study 1.1: illustrates how
the social context in which people live can impact their lives and that
, behaviour needs to be understood in the context of broader community
interaction and not in isolation)
Therefore, is it the context that provides meaning to behaviour, it is the
interpretive canvas against which individual and collective behaviour can be
better understood
This can lead to more effective solutions or interventions to resolve resultant
problems
JCP:
- this organisation used the strengths of the community to remove the
barriers and inequities of the past, to promote the well-being of all
individuals and families, and to build a sense of community with community
stakeholders
This community psychology approach is bulit on:
• Prevention
• Promotions
• Empowerment
• Community Participation
Definitions of Community Psychology
- CP studies the relationship of individuals with communities and societies
(The individual must be understood in terms of these relationships, not in
isolation from them)
• Community psychology is concerned with understanding people in the
context of their communities, using a variety of interventions to facilitate
change and improve mental health and social conditions for individuals,
groups, organisations and communities
• It seeks to understand and enhance quality of life for individuals,
communities and societies
• A value driven and action-orientated field
