Using psychology to promote human welfare: A conceptual analysis of the role of community psychology.

Analyzed according to a conceptually developed matrix the approaches by which psychology can be used to enhance human welfare. The approaches include clinical psychology, community mental health, community psychology, and public policy psychology. Each approach is examined in terms of the intended target, the content of the intervention, the process involved in the intervention approach, and the knowledge base necessary for attempting such interventions. The differences between community psychology and community mental health are emphasized, and it is concluded that community psychology should disengage itself from the community mental health movement to fulfill its most important functions of interfacing with the social systems of deviance control and of socialization and support. (51 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Erratum to Glenwick.

Reports an error in the original article by David S. Glenwick (American Psychologist, 1979[June], 34[6], p.559), a misplaced line occurred in the first paragraph, third column. The paragraph should read: I share Goodstein and Sandler's (1978, p. 891) opinion that "community psychology cannot prosper within the community mental health movement" (my emphasis). Nonetheless, there are some aspects of the community mental health movement (e.g., consultation, crisis intervention, use of paraprofessionals, community education, administration of the community mental health center as an organizational system) that can prosper within community psychology, that are consonant with a community psychology orientation and can lead to mutually productive collaborative undertakings. To prevent the baby from being thrown out with the bathwater, it is these aspects of community mental health that can legitimately be embraced by community psychology without comprising its ideological integrity. (The following abstract appears in record 1990-58513-001.) Comments on L. D. Goodstein and I. Sandler's (see record 1979-22507-001) conceptual analysis of community psychology (CP), focusing on program evaluation, multidisciplinary knowledge, and the community mental health movement (CMHM). There are aspects of the CMHM that can prosper within CP, that are consonant with a CP orientation, and that can lead to mutually productive collaborative undertakings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Administrative problems and patterns of correctional psychology departments in Canada.

Surveyed administrative problems and patterns of correctional psychology departments in Canada and compared the 2 major employers of correctional psychologists in Canada. These results were also compared with existing data on psychology departments in mental health settings. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a viable community health psychology: Caveats from the experiences of the community mental health movement.

Discusses opportunities and pitfalls in the development of a health psychology, with particular reference to the community mental health movement and community psychology. Health psychology in its preventive rather than curative aspects is stressed. Health psychology should adopt a community or public health perspective rather than an individual disease or individual treatment model. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An ecological-transactional understanding of community violence: Theoretical perspectives.

Community violence has emerged as a major risk factor for the development of mental health problems in children and adolescents. If mental health providers are to meet the needs of children and communities dealing with community violence, then they will need to integrate principles from various subdisciplines in psychology (e.g., developmental psychology, school psychology, developmental psychopathology) as well as disciplines outside of psychology (e.g., sociology, public health, medicine) to understand fully the developmental impact of exposure to community violence. The development of such a model is necessary to identify the pathways, risk, and protective factors on which prevention and intervention programs can be built. The goal of this article is to present an ecological-transactional model of community violence as a conceptual framework for understanding the existing literature and for guiding future research on community violence exposure and child development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

L'accessibilité à des traitements pour les troubles anxieux au Canada: Un commentaire.

Responds to Gauthier (see record 2004-17185-003) who commented on the two articles by Koerner et al (see record 2004-17185-001) and by Roberge et al (see record 2004-17185-002. The purpose of this response is to discuss the issue of limited availability of mental health services for anxiety disorders in Canada. From a public health perspective, the authors emphasize the importance of gathering Canadian empirical data on the organization of mental health services for anxiety disorders. Specifically more research is needed on care requirements, and the financial and structural barriers that restrict access to mental health services at the regional, provincial and national levels. The authors also discuss the role of psychologists in improving mental health care in Canada. Cost-effectiveness studies conducted in interdisciplinary practice environments could demonstrate the value added by psychology in the organization of mental health care for anxiety disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aging and mental health: Business as usual?

Cautions that in developing training models in mental health and aging, psychologists must not overlook what experience has taught them about mental health intervention or what they know already about older adults. It is suggested that a life-span developmental view complements a community and preventive approach to the mental health needs of the elderly. Creation of a separate subspecialty of clinical geropsychology will not effectively serve older adults. What is needed is a synthesis of already existing expertise in areas such as life-span development, clinical psychology, and community psychology. This synthesis provides a conceptual foundation and set of intervention approaches on which to base training programs in mental health and aging. (61 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to community psychology in Canada: Past, present, and future.

The introduction to the special section on community psychology in Canada provides background information about the field in Canada and provides summaries of the four articles and the commentary that comprise the issue. The articles address (a) theory, research, and practice in community psychology; (b) training in community psychology; (c) community psychology practice; and (d) a vision for the future of community psychology in Canada. These articles highlight the many contributions of Canadian community psychologists to a field that is growing throughout the world to address pressing social problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Community psychology, networks, and Mr. Everyman.

Proposes and defends the separation of community psychology from clinical psychology and community mental health. The proposal is not intended to assert the superiority of one field over another but rather to demonstrate that they require different conceptual rationales to achieve their different purposes. Clinical psychology and the community mental health movement rest on theories and practices that cannot provide an understanding of a community; indeed, they stand in the way of coming to grips with the complexity of a community. The need for a "divorce" is illustrated in several ways, with particular attention paid to the potential productiveness of the concept of a network as a way of looking at and studying a community. The characteristics of a community psychologist are defined, and their similarities to the "Mr. Everyman" of historian C. Becker (1935) are stressed. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Community mental health practice and the elderly.

Discusses some of the working knowledge necessary for a professional psychologist to provide effective mental health services for elderly community residents. The relevance of branches of psychology such as life-span developmental and health and community psychology, which can augment traditional clinical skills, are presented as critical to a psychologist's understanding and management of psychological disorders in older community residents. Also emphasized are the mobility of the psychologist and the provision of services in familiar settings. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Applied social psychology: A partial response to Sarason's suggested divorce.

S. B. Sarason (see record 1977-06620-001) has recently called for a divorce of community psychology from clinical psychology and community mental health, and has proposed as an alternative a loose confederation among community psychology, ecological psychology, and the social sciences. Sarason's rejection of social psychology as having little to offer community psychology is countered by a call for the rejuvenation and full development of applied social psychology, involving a creative integration of theory, research, and practice at all levels of human social functioning. Examples of useful concepts, research, and practice skills are given for 8 levels of interaction, and the advantages of approaching the community from an applied social psychology perspective are made clear. (French summary) (44 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Health manpower policy: A perspective from the National Institute of Mental Health.

Provides a brief history of the US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and its role in mental health manpower development. It is concluded that the mental health clinical training programs of NIMH have been essential to the academic mental health community and to the growth of the professions. Presently in psychology and social work, the shortage of funds to support students is the primary concern. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reaching out, reaching in: Two examples of public education.

Thirty-five years after former American Psychological Association (APA) President George A. Miller (1969) exhorted psychologists to "give psychology away," then-current APA President Ronald F. Levant (2005) encouraged us to "make psychology a household word"--but how do we go about accomplishing this goal? To highlight the value, issues, and challenges of providing such services, 2 case examples of public outreach are described: The Mental Health Tune Up, a 2-day community outreach event, involves multiple mental health organizations in seminars, a resource fair, mental health self-screenings, and workshops; the Toronto Marathon Psyching Team offers mental skills, support, and mental and emotional triage to runners before, during, and after a major international marathon. Event organization, volunteer training and support, interdisciplinary collaboration, corporate community support, systems integration, publicity, and program evaluation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hospital psychology in Canada.

Examined Canadian hospital psychology in terms of the existing organizational models, professional practices, academic activities, and professional orientations of hospital psychologists in a survey of 340 hospitals. Results reveal that psychologists were active clinically and academically in Canadian hospitals in a wide variety of health care areas in addition to traditional mental health areas. In the majority of hospitals, psychologists were organized in independent departments of psychology or behavioral science, although physician influence appeared to be a strong factor in practice. Medical staff membership and academic appointments for hospital psychologists were relatively low. Recommendations for the future development of hospital psychology in Canada are outlined. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The rural psychologist as generalist: A challenge for professional identity.

Discusses how the psychologist who practices in a rural mental health facility performs many tasks identical to those done by other mental health professionals. While a nonpluralistic and financially constrained mental health system is best served by flexible professionals with a wide range of skills, psychologists in such a setting must utilize their unique training to establish their identity among the service providers. The unique identity of the psychologist is found in the heritage, perspective, and methodology of psychology and not just in clinical activity. Psychologists should begin to develop their methodology by using the larger university context in which they were trained and thereby establish themselves also as researchers and community psychology practitioners. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some cultural, political and professional antecedents of community psychology in Canada.

Argues that community psychology has a long tradition but a very short history in Canada. Political, cultural, academic, and professional antecedents that compose this tradition and have influenced how community psychology has developed in Canada are traced. (French abstract) (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Employment opportunities for geropsychologists.

Surveyed 224 hospitals, community mental health centers, nursing homes, graduate departments of psychology, and hospices in California, Michigan, New York, and Texas as to their present and future levels of providing services to the aging and their interest in hiring geropsychologists. The most prevalent geropsychological activities were therapy, assessment, and community consultation. Although only 10% of respondents were interested in hiring geropsychologists at present, 43% reported interest in hiring in the future. The greatest interest in hiring was expressed by community mental health centers and hospitals. Regionally, New York expressed the greatest interest. Consistent with the recognized discrepancy between the extensive mental health needs of the elderly and the availability of appropriate professional care, the results document that the employment market for geropsychologists is considerably underdeveloped. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Why is multiculturalism good?": Compliments to Fowers and Richardson.

Comments on the article by B. J. Fowers and F. C. Richardson (see record 83-30335) on multiculturalism. The hermeneutical approach seems eminently suited for community psychology and especially crucial for community mental health practitioners in an increasingly multicultural society. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Community psychology: Boundary problems, psychological perspectives, and an empirical overview of the field.

Argues that L. D. Goodstein and I. Sandler's (see record 1979-22507-001) conceptual analysis of the role of community psychology (CP) exacerbates the boundary problem between CP and allied fields and loses sight of the part of CP that is psychological in nature. A content analysis of published literature on CP reveals overlaps between CP and community mental health, as well as between CP and public policy, organizational, and applied psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Broadening student experience in mental hygiene and abnormal psychology.

"At Whittier college an attempt is made to relate closely the student's experience in the mental hygiene and abnormal psychology courses." "In mental hygiene, emphasis is placed upon the practical problems of community mental health, and an attempt is made to stimulate the student's interest… ." "In the abnormal psychology course… trips are arranged to an institution for the mentally defective, a hospital for the care of the physically handicapped, a school for delinquents, and a state mental hospital. Other procedures and possibilities for provoking student interest and enriching class experience are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)