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."

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."

III. Understanding "a Sense of Community" Community Psychology III. Understanding "a Sense of Community"

What is a community? Locality Relational Community 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).

IV. Brief History of Field 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.