The Morals and Politics of Psychological Discourse and the Status Quo
... about what .to do. Such incertitude characterizes postmodern psychology more than other paradigms (e.g., Gergen, 1992;Shotter, 1992), but no psychological approach is immune to the prevalent sense of moral shyness. Traditional psychological interventions still contend with the legacy of value-free doctrines (Fox & Prilleltensky, 1997;Pilgrim, 1992;I. Prilleltensky, 1994a), whereas empowering philosophies risk focusing too much on agency and control at the expense of communion (Bakan, 1966;Riger, 1993) and feminist psychologists debate the ethical implications of emphasizing gender similarities or differences (Kimball, 1994;Morawski, 1994). These dilemmas warrant a renewed inquiry into the moral foundatio ...
... oblems arise when psychologists adhere closely to one principle but neglect another equally important one. A typical case is the extolment of autonomy and self-determination and the disregard for other values such as sense of community and distributive justice (Bakarl, 1966;Fox, 1985Fox, , 1993aHare-Mustin & Marecek, 1986;J. Holmes & Lindley, 1989;I. Prilleltensky, 1994a). To avoid this shortcoming, psychologists need to be aware of other important values required to advance human welfare. We should avoid becoming "fixated on certain values to the exclusion of others" (Kane, 1994, p. 58). This is why the values presented below should be regarded as complementary rather than as mutually exclusive. A case ...
... Psychologists do so by interpreting social problems that originate in the structure of the socioeconomic system in intrapsychic terms, by attributing excessive weight to individual factors in explaining social behavior, and by abstracting the individual from the sociohistorical context (I. Prilleltensky, 1994a;Sarason, 1981;Wallach & Wallach, 1983). In practice, psychologists have been inattentive to the way mental health services are maldistributed and inaccessible to poor people (Albee, 1990; J. Holmes & Lindley, 1989). ...
Despite an increased awareness concerning the role of values in psychology, psychologists lack clear guidelines to appraise the moral implications of their work. To address this discrepancy, the author proposes a framework for examining the moral dimensions of psychological discourse and practice. The framework contains 3 central elements: values, assumptions, and practices. These components may be used to articulate and to challenge the ethical, social, and political implications of theories and practices. To illustrate its applicability, the framework is used to evaluate the moral propositions of traditional, empowering, postmodern, and emancipatory communitarian approaches. The author concludes with a vision for addressing the shortcomings of predominant models by proposing for psychology an emancipatory communitarian approach that promotes the emancipation of vulnerable individuals and that fosters a balance among the values of self-determination, caring and compassion, collaboration and democratic participation, human diversity, and distributive justice.
... It is important for school counselors to learn more about antiracism and to incorporate antiracist concepts into their practice more consistently (Holcomb-McCoy, 2021;Mayes & Byrd, 2022;Stickl Haugen et al., 2022). Operating from a critical political standpoint perspective (Cushman, 1995;Prilleltensky, 1994), namely, critical race theory (CRT), we offer a conceptual framework for helping school counselors and counselor educators develop an antiracist lens that guides and informs their research agendas and researchinformed practices. ...
... Our structural position(s)/epistemological framework and sense of critical consciousness are connected to Prilleltensky's (1994) and Cushman's (1995) notions of a critical political standpoint. Prilleltensky and Cushman contended that a critical political standpoint entails an acute awareness of the social, political, and moral assumptions implicit to predominant psychological and counseling theories, research, and practices. ...
... Prilleltensky and Cushman contended that a critical political standpoint entails an acute awareness of the social, political, and moral assumptions implicit to predominant psychological and counseling theories, research, and practices. A critical political standpoint, then, elucidates how these psychological and counseling theories and practices have buttressed a racist status quo and social order (Prilleltensky, 1994;Cushman, 1995). In his critical history on the origin myths of psychology, Cushman highlighted the intrapsychic focus of predominant psychological and counseling theories and how the intrapsychic focus of these theories are derived from and reflect dominant social narratives. ...
It is important for school counselors to learn more about antiracism and to incorporate antiracist concepts into their practice more consistently ( Holcomb-McCoy, 2021 ; Mayes & Byrd, 2022 ; Stickl Haugen et al., 2022 ). Operating from a critical political standpoint perspective ( Cushman, 1995 ; Prilleltensky, 1994 ), namely, critical race theory (CRT), we offer a conceptual framework for helping school counselors and counselor educators develop an antiracist lens that guides and informs their research agendas and research-informed practices.
... That is simply incorrect (Brown et al., 2018). Many people succumb to social adversity, and only very few are able to Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 2 September 2021 | Volume 12 | Article 720793 remain psychologically unscathed from the injuries of injustice, oppression, and discrimination (Prilleltensky, 1994(Prilleltensky, , 2008Prilleltensky and Nelson, 2002). ...
... Indeed, human attempts of controlling natural uncertainties have created new ones (e.g., climate change, social and economic inequalities, and pandemics). Contemporary societies challenge long-standing projects of the "good society" and social equality through neoliberal economic policies, which have engendered individualistic values, competitiveness, distrust, and individualisation, negating the role of ethical values, thus complicating individual coping strategies (Marcuse, 1964(Marcuse, /1991Prilleltensky, 1994;Bauman, 2001;Stiegler, 2004Stiegler, /2011Coimbra and Menezes, 2009;Prilleltensky and Stead, 2012). So, these circumstances have both socioeconomic and psychological consequences, such as unemployment and precarity, jeopardizing well-being. ...
... To those socially vulnerable, meaning and agency are compromised, and their powerlessness has political effects, undermining social trust (Fryer, 1992(Fryer, , 1998Marris, 1996;Standing, 2011). These feelings go beyond individual psychological experiences and affect collective, social experiences, thus potentially contributing to an increase in extreme, populist, or conservative political groups, limiting solidarity and thus social justice (Marcuse, 1964(Marcuse, /1991Prilleltensky, 1994;Stiegler, 2004Stiegler, /2011. Macrosocial circumstances contribute to these phenomena. ...
... Indeed, human attempts of controlling natural uncertainties have created new ones (e.g., climate change, social and economic inequalities, and pandemics). Contemporary societies challenge long-standing projects of the "good society" and social equality through neoliberal economic policies, which have engendered individualistic values, competitiveness, distrust, and individualisation, negating the role of ethical values, thus complicating individual coping strategies (Marcuse, 1964(Marcuse, /1991Prilleltensky, 1994;Bauman, 2001;Stiegler, 2004Stiegler, /2011Coimbra and Menezes, 2009;Prilleltensky and Stead, 2012). So, these circumstances have both socioeconomic and psychological consequences, such as unemployment and precarity, jeopardizing well-being. ...
... To those socially vulnerable, meaning and agency are compromised, and their powerlessness has political effects, undermining social trust (Fryer, 1992(Fryer, , 1998Marris, 1996;Standing, 2011). These feelings go beyond individual psychological experiences and affect collective, social experiences, thus potentially contributing to an increase in extreme, populist, or conservative political groups, limiting solidarity and thus social justice (Marcuse, 1964(Marcuse, /1991Prilleltensky, 1994;Stiegler, 2004Stiegler, /2011. Macrosocial circumstances contribute to these phenomena. ...
... In Western societies, neoliberal policies and discourses that reproduce individualistic, meritocratic values, and the protestant work ethic (which value discipline and sacrifice, as a justification to make subordinate groups responsible for their failures, thus turning failure into evidence of moral or psychological incompetence) are hegemonic (Prilleltensky, 1994;Hudson, 2009, 2010;Ho et al., 2015). So, inequality becomes a form of social control through the internalisation of these ideologies by subordinate groups. ...
Contemporary societies challenge long-standing projects of the “good society” and social equality through neoliberal economic policies. Social forms of uncertainty generated by financial deprivation, precarity, and inequality seem to have effects on agency and coping and so socioeconomic and psychological consequences. This study aims to test these relationships, as well as a hypothesis on the potential impact of these constructs on beliefs of sociopolitical control and social dominance, which have implications for social justice. A mediation model explores the effects of financial access (the manifest benefit of work) on psychosocial uncertainty (which reflects the perception of uncertainty in the social context and the experience of its consequences within work, relationships, and the adoption of self-defeating beliefs) and on emotional coping strategies towards uncertainty, and their effects on personal agency, sociopolitical control (SPC), and social dominance orientation (SDO). Data are derived from a study of 633 participants in Portugal. Although personal agency is influenced by financial access and psychosocial uncertainty, it is not proved as a significant mediator for SPC and SDO. Nevertheless, financial access, psychosocial uncertainty, and emotional coping significantly contribute to the model, supporting the hypothesis that financial access protects against psychosocial uncertainty. Both have an impact on SPC and SDO. Therefore, financial deprivation and psychosocial uncertainty potentially contribute to extremism and populism in societies characterised by socially created forms of uncertainty. Implications of results for psychological intervention, namely in vocational/professional counselling, are discussed.
... For some, such stridency naïvely overlooks the inherent cultural and institutional power counselors possess and enact with clients (e.g. Guilfoyle, 2003;Prilleltensky, 1994). In an 'expert' approach guided by counselors, responding to 'resistance' can disrupt accustomed or standardized conversational practice. ...
... Another constraint on the negotiability of counselor-client dialogue relates to counselors' preferred ideas and practices, and what lies outside their range of acceptable familiarity. At worst, such counselor preferences and familiarities translate to ideological rigidities (Prilleltensky, 1994) that can fail to acknowledge or address the status quo of clients' circumstances. A related concern can arise if client experiences must map on to and project into counselors' ('having already been there') familiarities in clinical or other forms of knowing (Newman & Holzman, 1997). ...
... Here is where the formation of the social sciences (e.g., anthropology, psychology, and other helping professions) and their egregious practices have been justifiably implicated and scrutinized for their respective roles in fabricating narratives about the purported pathological proclivities of the cultural "other" under the guise of objective science, to facilitate the making of the modern world as we now know it (Castro-Gómez & Martin, 2002;Goodman et al., 2015;Judy, 1993;Marsella, 2015;Prilleltensky, 1994;Rivera & Fernandez, 2015;Shange, 2019). Stated differently, this "political critical standpoint" to the study of the social sciences recognizes the paramount importance of imbuing preservice helping professionals with "the skills necessary to scrutinize the ideological repercussions of particular forms of theorizing" so that they understand "the need to be educated in the political, social, and moral dimensions of psychology is just as important as being taught how to evaluate the methodology and research design of a study in human behavior" (Prilleltensky, 1994, p. 5;Washington & Henfield, 2019). ...
... The danger and precarity I experience-whether it manifests in White students' accusations that I compose "threatening" emails or being fetishized and touched by a White colleague like an exhibit on display and without my consent literally minutes before entering a college-wide meeting-is a consequence of the fact I am marked as an "outsider within" (Harrison, 2008) despite my doctoral degree and professional accomplishments. Because these White students and White colleagues have been educated in a system where the insidious vernacular of the Western episteme (e.g., objectivity, positivism) has been deliberately sanitized and normalized in the counseling nomenclature as ethical, evidence-based practices (Prilleltensky, 1994), the "political critical standpoint" I espouse is often perceived as aggressive, anachronistic, or too political, or described condescendingly with adjectives like "interesting," a word not typically associated with objective or rigorous epistemological perspectives or methodological approaches. Moreover, in this contemporary moment, as discourses about the necessity of antiracism spring forth from seemingly every corner of the academy, I watch as White colleagues, who, by their own admission, have not demonstrated the competence or capacity to do this work effectively, be rewarded and acknowledged for facilitating discussions I have routinely been reprimanded for initiating. ...
This self‐study examined the challenges experienced by three Black counselor educators when implementing antiracist pedagogy into their classrooms. Two themes emerged: White gaze in counselor education and marked as an outsider within. Counselor educators should engage in continuous self‐reflexivity and positionality while integrating and valuing Black perspectives in counselor education.
... The fifth force moniker is meant to imply that although some of the foundational writings that endorsed integrating social justice principles into counseling date back to the early 2000s (e.g., Kiselica & Robinson, 2001), widespread implementation of social justice counseling, in pedagogy and practice, is still in its germinal stage. Although most consider social justice counseling to be an integral and indispensable part of our profession, it has not, as of yet, secured the epistemological and institutional dominance associated with older and more empirically validated, intrapsychic counseling frameworks that are steeped in Eurocentrism (e.g., psychoanalysis, person-centered, cognitive behavior therapy, behaviorism; Katz, 1985;Nobles, 1986;Prilleltensky, 1994). ...
... To reiterate, in closing, this approach is grounded in an interdisciplinary approach to social history that interrogates how traditional counseling theories/frameworks are primarily concerned with the conservation of what is rather than the meticulous deconstruction of a fundamentally unjust social order (Freire, 1996;Prilleltensky, 1994). This approach also questions superficial engagements with hip-hop that reduce it to an unimaginative, momentary centering of historically marginalized voices: This actually exploits, trivializes, and circulates the experiences of Black people for public consumption through liberal multiculturalism (Brown, 2013;hooks, 1992). ...
In this article, I outline an approach for critical hip-hop school counseling (CHHSC) for novice and tenured school counselors to use when working with Black boys. Various facets of hip-hop culture (e.g., music, hip-hop scholarship) can sharpen Black boys’ conscientização ( Freire, 1996 ) and help them discern how interconnected social institutions (e.g., political systems, traditional schools) are grounded in anti-Black discourses and practices that endanger Black life (Baldwin, 1963; Dumas, 2016). The article begins with an operational definition of hip-hop culture. From there, I connect dissident ideas within hip-hop culture to the ways social justice has been operationalized in education and counseling, school counseling in particular. I conclude with suggestions and resources school counselors can research and integrate when using this approach with Black boys in middle and secondary school settings (Grades 6–12).
... So, by considering these strategies as potentially self-defeating ones, they may be explained by individual's life-long experiences, while also acknowledging their capacity for agency and to intervene in their immediate contexts. Therefore, the experience of uncontrollability experienced by individuals from vulnerable social groups becomes of the utmost importance to understand their relationship with the future, possible disbelief in it and, therefore, a tendency to adopt selfdefeating strategies or to act impulsively due to the actual powerlessness of some to control the present and the future (Marris, 1996;Prilleltensky, 1994). Tomasik and Silbereisen (2009) created a scale that focuses on demands of social change (on work and family life) due to globalisation and individualisation and this scale has allowed to explore group differences related to resources such as employability status, political contexts (Tomasik & Silbereisen, 2009), career planning (Lechner et al., 2016), religiosity (Lechner et al., 2013) and the impact of the global financial crisis . ...
... A solely psychological approach to uncertainty, by reinforcing an intrapsychic understanding of a phenomenon that has historical, social and cultural origins, may, unwillingly, generate discourses as well as social, psychological or political interventions that are merely focused on transforming the individual and fostering its adaptation to the environment. By doing so, we become accomplices in the reproduction of social discourses on the inadequacy of the most vulnerable, which increase the uncertainty they face and further constrain their power to control it (Marris, 1996), falling into the trap of victim blaming (Ryan, 1971(Ryan, /1976, while obliterating the importance of context transformation (Prilleltensky, 1994). ...
This study presents the development of the Psychosocial Uncertainty Scale (PS-US), which articulates the perception of uncertainty in the social context and its psychological experience. It was validated with a sample of 1596 students and active professionals (employed and unemployed). By randomly dividing this sample in three sub-samples, the following analyses were performed: exploratory factor analysis (sample one: N = 827); preliminary confirmatory factor analysis identifying the final version of the scale (sample two: N = 382); confirmatory factor analysis (sample three: N = 387). Multi-group analysis was used to assess measurement invariance, gender, sociocultural level, and group of origin invariance, by using samples two and three. Group differences were explored with the complete sample through Multiple Indicators and Multiple Causes (MIMIC) Models. Associations between this scale and the Uncertainty response Scale were explored through Structural Equation Modelling. Exploratory and confirmatory analyses’ results showed good internal consistency and overall good psychometric qualities. The scale reached full metric invariance across groups, gender, SCL level and group of origin. Results highlight the sensitivity of the scale towards social vulnerability, proving the existence of sociocultural levels’ effects on experiences of psychosocial uncertainty within working contexts, relationships and community living and self-defeating beliefs; and gender and students versus professionals’ effects on psychosocial uncertainty. Furthermore, the scale associated significantly with Uncertainty Response Scale’s dimensions, specifically with emotional uncertainty, which can be considered a self-defeating strategy. Results suggest that emotional coping strategies, are explained by psychosocial uncertainty by 57%, and so, may have social origins.
... Counseling as a profession has been criticized for implementing helping strategies that are primarily aimed at fostering individual intrapsychic interventions without recognizing and addressing contextual-environmental factors which contribute to the manifestation of mental health problems (House & Martin, 1998;Ibrahim & Arredondo, 1986;Ibrahim & Ohnishi, 2001;Sue, Arredondo, & McDavis, 1992;Toporek & Liu, 2001;Toporek, Gerstein, Fouad, Roysircar, & Israel, 2006;Toporek, Lewis, & Crethar, 2009;Vera & Speight, 2003). According to recent research, many people seeking counseling services suffer from trauma caused by racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, exclusion due to cultural and religious differences from the mainstream population of the United States, and unintentional and intentional acts of oppression (Carter & Forsyth, 2009;House & Martin, 1998;Ibrahim & Ohnishi, 2001;Prilleltensky, 1994;Prilleltensky & Prilleltensky, 2003). These forms of injustice cause people immense pain and suffering resulting in shortened life span, ill health, anxiety, and depression (Carter & Forsyth, 2009;Prilleltensky, 1994;Prilleltensky & Prilleltensky, 2003). ...
... According to recent research, many people seeking counseling services suffer from trauma caused by racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, exclusion due to cultural and religious differences from the mainstream population of the United States, and unintentional and intentional acts of oppression (Carter & Forsyth, 2009;House & Martin, 1998;Ibrahim & Ohnishi, 2001;Prilleltensky, 1994;Prilleltensky & Prilleltensky, 2003). These forms of injustice cause people immense pain and suffering resulting in shortened life span, ill health, anxiety, and depression (Carter & Forsyth, 2009;Prilleltensky, 1994;Prilleltensky & Prilleltensky, 2003). ...
... Reviewing the literature after 1945 one sees references to the crisis of psychology in the context of a crisis in social psychology, personality psychology, and experimental psychology, a crisis of psychometrics, an identity crisis of developmental psychology, a statistical crisis, a methodological crisis, a scientific crisis, a philosophical crisis, a theoretical crisis, an anthropological crisis, a pragmatic crisis, an ethical crisis, a political crisis, a crisis of German psychology, a crisis of the psychological labor market, a publication crisis, a crisis of crisis proclamations and so on (for overviews see Bakan, 1996;Gummersbach, 1985;Herzog, 1984;Mos, 1996;Teo, 1993;Westland, 1978). 13 Some psychologists aim their critiques at epistemological and ontological issues such as subject matter (e.g., Eberlein & Pieper, 1976), methodol-ogy of psychology (e.g., Smedslund, 1988), or ethical-political relevance, which includes the practical relevance of psychology (e.g., Prilleltensky, 1994). Practical and ethical-political relevance should be addressed in terms of generality and particularity. ...
... The field of psychology finds its defenders of the separation of value and science (e.g., Kendler, 1993). Yet, an increasing literature acknowledges the role of the ethical-political domain for theory and practice (for instance, Fox, 1985;Kurtines, Azmitia, & Gewirtz, 1992;Morawski, 1982;Prilleltensky, 1994Prilleltensky, , 1997Sampson, 1993Sampson, , 2003Tolman, 2001;Walsh-Bowers, 1995). However, I am not providing a critique or evaluation of these discourses in terms of the science-value dimension, but rather offer a heuristic, conceptual toolbox, that enables psychologists to think about these issues. ...
... Counseling as a profession has been criticized for implementing helping strategies that are primarily aimed at fostering individual intrapsychic interventions without recognizing and addressing contextual-environmental factors which contribute to the manifestation of mental health problems (House & Martin, 1998;Ibrahim & Arredondo, 1986;Ibrahim & Ohnishi, 2001;Sue, Arredondo, & McDavis, 1992;Toporek & Liu, 2001;Toporek, Gerstein, Fouad, Roysircar, & Israel, 2006;Toporek, Lewis, & Crethar, 2009;Vera & Speight, 2003). According to recent research, many people seeking counseling services suffer from trauma caused by racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, exclusion due to cultural and religious differences from the mainstream population of the United States, and unintentional and intentional acts of oppression (Carter & Forsyth, 2009;House & Martin, 1998;Ibrahim & Ohnishi, 2001;Prilleltensky, 1994;Prilleltensky & Prilleltensky, 2003). These forms of injustice cause people immense pain and suffering resulting in shortened life span, ill health, anxiety, and depression (Carter & Forsyth;Prilleltensky, 1994;Prilleltensky & Prilleltensky, 2003). ...
... According to recent research, many people seeking counseling services suffer from trauma caused by racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, exclusion due to cultural and religious differences from the mainstream population of the United States, and unintentional and intentional acts of oppression (Carter & Forsyth, 2009;House & Martin, 1998;Ibrahim & Ohnishi, 2001;Prilleltensky, 1994;Prilleltensky & Prilleltensky, 2003). These forms of injustice cause people immense pain and suffering resulting in shortened life span, ill health, anxiety, and depression (Carter & Forsyth;Prilleltensky, 1994;Prilleltensky & Prilleltensky, 2003). ...
Part 1 of this article features the Counselors for Social Justice (CSJ) Code of Ethics formally endorsed in 2010. The ethical standards for practice, advocacy, assessment and diagnosis, supervision, research, and professional relationships, including consultation are outlined. In Part 2, following the presentation of the Code of Ethics, the mission and goals of CSJ as well as the process, and the development of the CSJ Code of Ethics are described.
... Therefore, we can expect some resistance from certain professions. Psychology's unwitting support for the status quo, for instance, has been amply documented (Fox et al., 2009;Prilleltensky, 1994;Prilleltensky & Nelson, 2002). ...
Whereas the behavioral and health sciences have been mainly concerned with the private good, there is an urgent need to understand and foster the collective good. Without a coherent framework for the common good, it will be extremely difficult to prevent and manage crises such as pandemics, illness, climate change, poverty, discrimination, injustice, and inequality, all of which affects marginalized populations disproportionally. While frameworks for personal well-being abound in psychology, psychiatry, counseling, and social work, conceptualizations of collective well-being are scarce. Our search for foundations of the common good resulted in the identification of three psychosocial goods: mattering, wellness, and fairness. There are several reasons for choosing them, including the fact that they concurrently advance personal, relational, and collective value. In addition, they represent basic human motivations, have considerable explanatory power, exist at multiple ecological levels, and have significant transformative potential. The complementary nature of the three goods is illustrated in an interactional model. Based on empirical evidence, we suggest that conditions of justice lead to experiences of mattering, which, in turn, enhance wellness. Challenges and opportunities afforded by the model at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, occupational, communal, national, and global levels are presented. The proposed psychosocial goods are used to formulate a culture for the common good in which we balance the right with the responsibility to feel valued and add value, to self and others, in order to promote not just wellness but also fairness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
... It has also been argued that empowerment theory may be used as an excuse to hold individuals responsible for their life situations, and provide a rationale for relieving institutional responsibility to take care of people and communities (Rappaport & Seidman, 2000). Similarly, Prilleltensky (1994) argued that if the concept of empowerment is to move into other fields of psychology, its moral and psychological foundations should be more clearly articulated. Zimmerman (2000) argued that future research should aim to further develop empowerment theory by turning its" attention to examining components of empowerment in different populations and settings. ...
Aim: The current research explored parents‟ experiences of accessing a child primary care psychology service for their children. A secondary aim was to investigate the application of Empowerment Theory to this emerging area of service delivery.
Method: 12 parents who had accessed the service for their children in the previous year took part in one, semi-structured individual interview. Template Analysis was utilised to extract themes.
Results: Five major themes emerged. One theme referred to parents‟ reflections on their child‟s difficulties. Three themes addressed service-specific experiences such as the importance of a familiar and local environment, linking in with community supports, accessibility and the importance of a timely intervention. Parents also noted recent changes in their engagement with services. These included their relationship with professionals, their own expectations, the sense of control they experienced, the sharing of information and the flexibility of services. The final master theme addressed parents experiences of and views about diagnosis.
Conclusions: Results have implications for service development and the future
establishment of primary care psychology services, and help to address the significant lack of parent involvement in primary care psychology research. The findings also have theoretical implications with regard to the suitability of Empowerment approaches in this area.
... Making clinical supervision more responsive to the needs of racially and culturally different supervisees and their clients/students requires a willingness to examine the underlying cultural values that constitute the basis of counseling (Naidoo, 1996;Prilleltensky, 1994;Washington et al., 2021;Wrenn, 1962). Several authors (Bulhan, 1985;Guthrie, 1970;Katz, 1985;Naidoo, 1996;Prilleletensky, 1994;Ridley, 2005;Sue et al., 1992) have exposed the deliberate self-serving Eurocentric underpinnings of dominant counseling theories that tend to support the racist status quo. ...
Anti‐racist and anti‐oppressive supervision remains a burgeoning area of scholarship and research within the counselor education nomenclature. In this paper, we explore how matters of race and racism are conspicuously underemphasized in counselor training, specifically, the supervision process. We explore the hidden curriculum in counselor education supervision models. Next, we consider how a supervision model grounded in critical race theory provides a more robust framework for addressing gaps in existing supervision models through anti‐racist practices.
... It is a discussion that challenges the entire psychological research agenda, by asking questions about the priorities, aims and methods of research. This was a key theme underlying the introduction of the 'critical psychology' movement and its challenge to the assumptions on which traditional psychological paradigms for research and intervention were based (Fox & Prilleltensky, 1997;Prilleltensky, 1994;Prilleltensky & Nelson, 1997, 2000Rappaport, 2000). It is an arena marked by 'irony, tensions and contradictions' (Rappaport & Stewart, 1997, p.301), but essentially the discussion about values was an extension of the established field of psychology and ethics. ...
... As a result, psychologists have a role to play in determining the course of actions and activities geared towards resolving social developmental challenges. Social values and human actions drive policies aimed at social change that are supported by evidence-based policies (Basu et al. 2017;Prilleltensky 1994). Thus, psychology views policy-induced change as an entity in the community which cannot be separated from it. ...
This book shines light on the specifically African public policy issues. It outlines the fundamental principles of public policy research, and engages with major issues in the study of public policy from an African perspective, covering essential topics such as the location and centrality of social sciences in relation to public policy, leadership, methodology, institutions, governance, and gender. This book is essential for understanding the various aspects and dimensions of policy making in Africa that underscore quality research and are at the core of excellence in teaching and learning.
... As a result, psychologists have a role to play in determining the course of actions and activities geared towards resolving social developmental challenges. Social values and human actions drive policies aimed at social change that are supported by evidence-based policies (Basu et al. 2017;Prilleltensky 1994). Thus, psychology views policy-induced change as an entity in the community which cannot be separated from it. ...
One of the major challenges confronting public policy in Africa is how to overcome overt and subtle discrimination in the art of governance, economic and social development. The promotion of social diversity and the eradication of exploitation of one group by others remains a major focus. Understanding the political and civil rights of different social classes, as well as their economic, social and cultural rights, provide the basis for this chapter on social diversity, gender, equity and public policy. This chapter examines the discourse on social differences, and how state and society have responded over time to the growing demands for inclusive growth and social justice in development. It shows how evidence from reflective research is contributing to the unfolding paradigm shift towards embracing social diversity and equity with special reference to race, gender, ethnicity and disability, to name a few. This chapter highlights how policy instruments influence the process of income distribution across different social groups and how public policy can be used to advance people’s freedoms across different social groups.
... As a result, psychologists have a role to play in determining the course of actions and activities geared towards resolving social developmental challenges. Social values and human actions drive policies aimed at social change that are supported by evidence-based policies (Basu et al. 2017;Prilleltensky 1994). Thus, psychology views policy-induced change as an entity in the community which cannot be separated from it. ...
This chapter begins by examining the debates around policy paradigms in the study of the changing context of public policy making and policy change. It recognizes that policy ideas are embedded in policy paradigms and that these paradigms form the basis for framing, articulating and implementing public policy. It examines such concepts as pluralism, internationalization and globalization, and polycentricism in the study of public policy. Furthermore, it examines the changing focus and locus of policy discussing such issues as the state versus market, the growing complexity and scale of government and the special concerns of Africans relating to the debate around the issues. Based on the above theoretical debates, certain issues and the competing tools for addressing them are identified for closer scrutiny. These contextual issues include the economic issues in public policy; health issues and public policy; security issues and public policy; the environment and natural resources policy issues; governance and policy issues; and exclusion, vulnerability and public policy. The chapter concludes by drawing out the implications of policy paradigms on policy change and policy performance.
... As a result, psychologists have a role to play in determining the course of actions and activities geared towards resolving social developmental challenges. Social values and human actions drive policies aimed at social change that are supported by evidence-based policies (Basu et al. 2017;Prilleltensky 1994). Thus, psychology views policy-induced change as an entity in the community which cannot be separated from it. ...
This chapter examined the nature of public policy and role of policy analysis in the policy process. It examines a variety of research methods and their use in public policy engagements and analysis for evidence-informed policymaking. It explains qualitative methods, quantitative methods, multiple and mixed-method research. Other issues addressed include causal research in public policy, report writing and communication and related issues in public policy research.
... As a result, psychologists have a role to play in determining the course of actions and activities geared towards resolving social developmental challenges. Social values and human actions drive policies aimed at social change that are supported by evidence-based policies (Basu et al. 2017;Prilleltensky 1994). Thus, psychology views policy-induced change as an entity in the community which cannot be separated from it. ...
This chapter establishes and underscores the salience of the central claims of the chapters of the book, the skills and abilities the readings support as part of the research and public policy programmes. It begins by examining the travails of the effort to promote evidence-informed policy making from the 1950s in the build-up to independence, through the period of central planning, fiscal crisis and recession, structural adjustment, and the entrance and proliferation of independent think tanks. It shows that after a lull during the periods of dictatorship and the shrinking of the democratic space, the liberalisation and democratisation process from the 1990s onwards has rekindled consciousness and interest in promoting evidence-informed policy making. African countries have become part of the evidence revolution indicated by the establishment of national policy evaluation systems across the continent. The chapters together constitute essential materials for understanding various aspects and dimensions of policy making in Africa with emphasis on quality research and excellence in both teaching and learning of the graduate programmes in public policy.
... As a result, psychologists have a role to play in determining the course of actions and activities geared towards resolving social developmental challenges. Social values and human actions drive policies aimed at social change that are supported by evidence-based policies (Basu et al. 2017;Prilleltensky 1994). Thus, psychology views policy-induced change as an entity in the community which cannot be separated from it. ...
This chapter deals with the global context of public policy making, especially the influence of globalization on public policy making in Africa. It provides a precise and conceptually focused definitions of globalization and public policy. It addresses the emergence of global institutions of governance, international conventions, global policies and their diffusion and influence on national policy making around the world. It takes us around the debates around policy paradigms in the study of the public policy choice and policy change. It examines influence of global policy paradigms on national public policy making in Africa, with illustrations drawn from Republic of Kenya. It therefore identifies and discusses the competing forces of both internal and external factors that influence public policy making in Africa.
... As a result, psychologists have a role to play in determining the course of actions and activities geared towards resolving social developmental challenges. Social values and human actions drive policies aimed at social change that are supported by evidence-based policies (Basu et al. 2017;Prilleltensky 1994). Thus, psychology views policy-induced change as an entity in the community which cannot be separated from it. ...
This chapter explains public policy making and implementation from a political economy perspective. It is argued that the making and implementation of public policy is enveloped in contestations and bargaining between interest groups with competing claims over rights and resources. The use and control of political power helps shape the direction and class character of public policy. The policy outcomes help to further reproduce the position of the ruling class in control of the state apparatus. This chapter examines the concepts of political economy and public policy, and discusses some of the variants of political economy and how each conceives of public policy making process and implementation. The chapter further discusses the role of political economy in problem-solving and finally, how political economy approaches evidence in public policy research.
... As a result, psychologists have a role to play in determining the course of actions and activities geared towards resolving social developmental challenges. Social values and human actions drive policies aimed at social change that are supported by evidence-based policies (Basu et al. 2017;Prilleltensky 1994). Thus, psychology views policy-induced change as an entity in the community which cannot be separated from it. ...
This chapter analyses the interconnections among the concepts of governance, politics and public policy and examines the political and governance issues around policy making in Africa. It explores the concepts of “public policy”, “Politics” and “governance” and their inter-relationship. It then elaborates the main features of the governance context of policy making and the formal governance institutions of policy making: the arms of government and the models and systems of government. It also describes policy roles of the party and electoral systems as frameworks of democratic governance. It explores public policy instruments and actors in the policymaking process as well as the informal dimensions of politics and public policy making.
... As a result, psychologists have a role to play in determining the course of actions and activities geared towards resolving social developmental challenges. Social values and human actions drive policies aimed at social change that are supported by evidence-based policies (Basu et al. 2017;Prilleltensky 1994). Thus, psychology views policy-induced change as an entity in the community which cannot be separated from it. ...
This chapter underscores the importance of engaging policy makers and other stakeholders in the research process. Recognizing that there are two dimensions, the demand and supply sides to the use of evidence in policy making, it discusses the various instruments and platforms for communicating research to make it accessible to a variety of stakeholders.
... As a result, psychologists have a role to play in determining the course of actions and activities geared towards resolving social developmental challenges. Social values and human actions drive policies aimed at social change that are supported by evidence-based policies (Basu et al. 2017;Prilleltensky 1994). Thus, psychology views policy-induced change as an entity in the community which cannot be separated from it. ...
One of the major challenges confronting public policy in Africa is how to overcome overt and subtle discrimination in the art of governance, economic and social development. The promotion of social diversity and the eradication of exploitation of one group by others remains a major focus. Understanding the political and civil rights of different social classes, as well as their economic, social and cultural rights, provides the basis for this chapter on social diversity, gender, equity and public policy. This chapter examines the discourse on social differences, and how state and society have responded over time to the growing demands for inclusive growth and social justice in development. It shows how evidence from reflective research is contributing to the unfolding paradigm shift towards embracing social diversity and equity with special reference to race, gender, ethnicity and disability, to name a few. This chapter highlights how policy instruments influence the process of income distribution across different social groups; how public policy can be used to advance people’s freedoms across different social groups.
... As a result, psychologists have a role to play in determining the course of actions and activities geared towards resolving social developmental challenges. Social values and human actions drive policies aimed at social change that are supported by evidence-based policies (Basu et al. 2017;Prilleltensky 1994). Thus, psychology views policy-induced change as an entity in the community which cannot be separated from it. ...
This chapter examines the nature of social science research as it has evolved historically in Africa within the colonial context. It examines the linkages between social science research institutions and the policy processes, providing a discussion of a variety of techniques for policy analysis. It draws on research to map the debate around these connections and the ongoing quest to promote innovation and achieve an uptake in evidence-informed policy making across Africa.
... As a result, psychologists have a role to play in determining the course of actions and activities geared towards resolving social developmental challenges. Social values and human actions drive policies aimed at social change that are supported by evidence-based policies (Basu et al. 2017;Prilleltensky 1994). Thus, psychology views policy-induced change as an entity in the community which cannot be separated from it. ...
This chapter presents and discusses the social science basis of public policy. It briefly presents the history, epistemological thoughts (theories) and science of public policy, disciplinary paradigms and influences on public policy and cross-disciplinary dimensions in social science-oriented public policy.
... As a result, psychologists have a role to play in determining the course of actions and activities geared towards resolving social developmental challenges. Social values and human actions drive policies aimed at social change that are supported by evidence-based policies (Basu et al. 2017;Prilleltensky 1994). Thus, psychology views policy-induced change as an entity in the community which cannot be separated from it. ...
This chapter describes the context and justification for the book. It discusses the growing recognition and action in advancing evidence-informed public policy making. It introduces the Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR) as a major intervention in this regard, discusses its intervention in higher education through the introduction of the Doctoral in Public Policy (DPP) programme and Master of Research and Public Policy programme (MRPP) and the need for a textbook that responds to the needs of the programme in 14 African universities. It then describes the content of the various chapters of the book and concludes with their relevance and uses.
... Focusing on the implications of hegemonic psychological discourse for career counselling, Casanova et al. make use of social-constructivist discourse analysis of the interview data. They argue that a critical standpoint in counselling psychology should consider the moral and ethical implications of psychology and its interventions as previously highlighted by Prilleltensky (1994). Casanova et al. consider this to be particularly important for the role psychologists play in promoting social justice. ...
... Some argue that the treatment interventions generally available within the NHS are becoming increasingly manualised (Binnie, 2015). Equally problematically, the individual focus of interventions such as CBT can locate both the problem and solution to mental health issues within the individual (Prilleltensky, 1994), rather than considering the influence of wider societal structures (Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2004). Against this backdrop, there is an extensive and growing evidence base, which demonstrates the relationship between wider societal structural contexts in the United Kingdom and mental health inequalities (Friedli, 2009;Muntaner et al., 2004;Wilkinson & Pickett, 2010). ...
This paper explores the personal and professional connections between clinical psychologists in the United Kingdom (UK) and critical/community psychology (CCP). Specifically, it asks how clinical psychologists define the area, how they relate to it and how they apply it in their work. Twenty clinical psychologists responded to an online survey, 12 of whom went on to take part in a follow-up telephone interview. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. The results are divided into three sections: i. "describing CCP": social justice and a questioning stance are considered, ii. "relating to CCP": an interplay between lifespan events and personal responses are described and iii. "applying CCP": a dynamic between role-specific applications and reality checks that either enable or constrain is illustrated. Although the continued need for a CCP is described, the results highlight both challenges and tensions of practising CCP within clinical psychology.
... That is simply incorrect (Brown et al., 2018). Many people succumb to social adversity, and only very few are able to remain psychologically unscathed from the injuries of injustice, oppression, and discrimination (Prilleltensky, 1994(Prilleltensky, , 2008(Prilleltensky, , 2012Prilleltensky and Nelson, 2002). ...
Historically, positive psychology research and practice have focused on studying and promoting well-being among individuals. While positive psychology interventions focusing on the well-being of communities and marginalized groups have recently been developed, studies reporting on their nature and characteristics are lacking. The aim of this paper is to examine the nature of community-level positive psychology interventions. It reviews the target populations, intervention modalities, objectives, and desired effects of 25 community-level positive psychology interventions found in 31 studies. This scoping review shows that community-level programs based on positive psychology vary greatly in all these aspects. However, most interventions are aimed at individual-level changes to achieve target group outcomes. Contextual issues such as social conditions, values, and fairness affecting well-being are rarely considered. Discrepancies between community-level positive psychology interventions and community psychology in terms of values and social change are discussed.
... Related to but broader than the managerialist critique has been a persistent argument that W-O psychology has been complicit in supporting capitalism (Gerard, 2017;Islam & Zyphur, 2009;Prilleltensky, 1994;Steffy & Grimes, 1986) andmore recentlyneoliberalism (e.g., 2 . Some scholars suggest that neoliberal capitalism has been achieved in part through an emphasis on psychologization (cf., DeVos, 2012) that attempts to reduce and capture social logics into questions of subjectivity, shaping individuals who are able to operate within capitalism (Gordo & DeVos, 2010, cf., Bettache & Chiu, 2019 for a discussion of neoliberalism and social psychology). ...
This paper argues that critical perspectives have constituted a marginal yet continued presence in work and organizational (W-O) psychology and calls for a reflexive taking stock of these perspectives to ground a critical research agenda. We argue that critical W-O psychology has been positioned between a psychology literature with limited development of critical perspectives, and an emergent critical management literature that has allowed their selective development. This in-between position has allowed critical W-O psychology to persist, albeit in a fragmented form, while limiting its potential for theoretical and applied impact. We use this diagnosis to reflect on how critical perspectives can best develop from within W-O psychology. We end with a call for developing a critical movement unique to the current historical moment, drawing upon without repeating the experiences of its home disciplines, in a future oriented and reflexive psychology research agenda.
... En la medida en que la psicología convencional focaliza sus propuestas en las percepciones de los trabajadores con respecto a su tarea deja de lado las condiciones objetivas en que se ejecuta (Prilleltensky 1994). Por consiguiente, el trabajo en si mismo se pone entre paréntesis en los análisis psicológicos que se conducen. ...
La patologización y despatologización de la ficción del "trabajador libre" en términos del riesgo psico-laboral.
... This symposium sought to foster reflection and discussion about the relevance of a social justice standpoint in CGC and how social justice could become a strategy to tackle issues of social inequality to help the youth to cope with the socioeconomic and political challenges brought about by rapid social transformations in western societies, at the same time alerting them to the dangers of CGC's contribution to the reproduction of the status quo (Bauman, 2001;Prilleltensky, 1994;Sennett, 1998;Prilleltensky & Stead, 2012). Despite the theoretical points of view and research results that inform this article, its aim is an experiential one, presenting reflections on the debates and discussions this symposium stimulated. ...
Western societies have experienced complex cultural, socioeconomic and politi-cal transformations over the last forty years, which have led to various individu-alised forms of socialisation, community fragmentation, fast-paced social changes and ways of living. Additional transformations in the professional world include uncertainty/risk, competitiveness, and precarity in the labour market. Despite in-creased productivity, these transformations have contributed to social inequality in developed and developing countries. Therefore, young people develop their life/vo-cational projects within an increasingly complex, demanding and uncertain world. This symposium sought to propose a reflection on how social justice might become central to the field of career guidance and counselling (CGC) research and praxis so that it truly helps young people navigate the world of work, which is charac-terised by rising levels of inequality. The papers presented are all concerned with vulnerable populations that suffer the consequences of socioeconomic inequality, and whose life/vocational projects and professional experiences (i.e., precarity and unemployment) are undermined.
... On the other hand, psychology, by virtue of the authority it derives from being a science, can both legitimize and disprove popular beliefs about human functioning. Thus, it can both perpetuate the existing status quo or critically analyze the social order, thereby fostering social change (Prilleltensky, 1989(Prilleltensky, , 1994Sarason, 1981). ...
The article presents the results of a thematic analysis of statements about polyamory made in the media by Polish psychology and sexology experts. The analysis was conducted on the basis of 20 pieces of material released in the Polish national press, radio, and television between July 2012 and October 2018. The results show that most of the analyzed experts approach polyamory with suspicion. In most cases, the decision to be in a polyamorous relationship is assessed very negatively, and in the eyes of the therapists it is evidence of psychological defects in people who make such attempts or it is seen as a harbinger of unfavorable outcomes for the relationship. This negative psychological evaluation is often accompanied by a strong moral assessment and a clear willingness to discourage society from this relationship model. The results show that representatives of psychology and medical sciences in the Polish media support and legitimize the social and moral order that promotes mono-normativity. The true reasons for the aforementioned negative assessment are hidden behind a veil of scientific objectivity.
... Commitment to social justice involves examining the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within society, promoting equitable access and participation across social identity groups, and prioritizing individuals' physical and psychological safety (Bell, 2016;Fouad et al., 2006). Researchers have called upon school psychologists to work actively to create systems that allow for equitable access to education and prevent further oppression in society (Prilleltensky, 1994;Shriberg et al., 2012;Sullivan & A'Vant, 2009). These efforts include advocacy with school staff to reflect and engage in non-discriminatory practices; empower youth, families, and communities to structurally advance access to educational opportunities; and collaborate with education leaders for quality, equitable and supportive learning communities. ...
The work of school psychologists is rooted in social justice and aims to preserve the rights, opportunities, and well-being of all children within the educational environment. In pre-service training, this requires that relevant knowledge and skills are taught explicitly and fostered carefully. At the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMass Boston), school psychology faculty infuse social justice through standalone theory-driven and experiential coursework, field-based learning activities, and supportive mentorship for students' growth of critical research skills and professional competencies. In the context of a college and university that embrace a social justice mission, program faculty engage in research and training with the goal of fostering reflective discourse on current practices and strive for continuous improvement. This paper describes the UMass Boston specialist and doctoral school psychology training sequence as a descriptive example of a programmatic commitment to social justice. It also offers suggestions for school psychology trainers interested in developing a social justice infused sequence in their program.
... Colocam-se então alguns objetivos que devem nortear as práticas investigativas em Psicologia Social do Trabalho, como a denúncia de condições de trabalho opressoras e adoecedoras, a desmistificação de estereótipos sobre sujeitos e atividades a que se dedicam, a identificação de problemas e desafios colocados pelo trabalho para os trabalhadores, e o afrontamento das relações desiguais e de exploração a que as pessoas são submetidas no cenário capitalista neoliberal. Os autores lançam ainda reflexões pungentes sobre a atuação dos psicólogos, ao lembrarem que se não trabalhamos em prol da erradicação das desigualdades, fatalmente estaremos contribuindo para sua manutenção, tal qual discute Prilleltensky (1994). Certamente essa não é uma proposição nova. ...
... Assim, é possível alavancar uma atuação éticapolítica acerca dos papéis da organização e assim construir novas configurações que possam responder aos problemas reais e atuais, contribuindo para um fazer social efetivo. Segundo Prilleltensky (1994), se os psicólogos não se questionam acerca da dimensão éticopolítica de sua atuação, inevitavelmente, acabam trabalhando a favor dos que têm mais poder. ...
O presente trabalho refere-se a um relato de experiência resultante de um estágio em psicologia organizacional, que decorreu nas dependências de uma Universidade Pública Federal, situada no município de Araguaína/TO/Brasil com trabalhadores terceirizados que atuam na prestação de serviços relacionados à manutenção predial e limpeza em geral. O referido trabalho caracteriza-se como um estudo qualitativo, construído com base nos métodos de observação direta naturalística e entrevistas semiestruturadas, tendo como finalidade a elaboração de estratégias interventivas com foco nos trabalhadores terceirizados a partir de uma compreensão ética, política e social, visando a promoção de saúde e bem-estar dos trabalhadores. No transcorrer do trabalho utilizou-se como base referencial a psicodinâmica do trabalho e a psicologia social do trabalho, a fim de compreender o sofrimento dos trabalhadores dentro de uma lógica capitalista e de sofrimento, construindo um olhar crítico e reflexivo acerca das práxis psicológicas, questionando a desnaturalização da forma como se organiza o trabalho no contexto capitalista. Adiante nos resultados, buscou-se evidenciar e compreender o sofrimento psíquico que os levam a sentimentos de despertencimento social e consequentemente pensar em práticas interventivas assertivas para solucionar tais questões, proporcionando a melhoria das atividades laborais, resgatando a dignidade humana na relação trabalho-trabalhador e propiciar qualidade de vida e bem- estar dos sujeitos, sobretudo trabalhando em medidas preventivas.
... The common thread in its emergence has been the recognition of inequity and injustice within social systems and the resulting negative impact on individual and community wellbeing (Kloos et al., 2012). Alongside this thread has been the realization that traditional psychology has played a significant role in maintaining damaging social relations and structures (Prilleltensky, 1994;Kloos et al., 2012). Community psychology has emerged, then, as a psychology seeking to enhance wellbeing via social change and social justice (Levine et al., 2005;Nelson and Prilleltensky, 2010). ...
Introduction: Epistemology and Ontology of Community Psychology
Community psychology has emerged internationally over the past fifty or more years, for varying purposes and in unique social, political, and cultural circumstances. Community psychology may be defined most simply as the applied study of the relationship between social systems and individual wellbeing in the community context1. Like many subdisciplines, community psychology is concerned with understanding and promoting factors that affect health and wellness. It is an applied social science, a vocation, and an analytical perspective (Levine et al., 2005). The common thread in its emergence has been the recognition of inequity and injustice within social systems and the resulting negative impact on individual and community wellbeing (Kloos et al., 2012). Alongside this thread has been the realization that traditional psychology has played a significant role in maintaining
damaging social relations and structures (Prilleltensky, 1994; Kloos et al., 2012). Community psychology has emerged, then, as a psychology seeking to enhance wellbeing via social change and social justice (Levine et al., 2005; Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2010). Where
community psychology becomes distinct from other fields of psychology is in its focus on: adoption of ecological and historical perspectives; recognition of social power differentials; preference for ‘praxis’ over theory, research, or practice alone; and values-based practice (Levine et al., 2005; Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2010). These distinguishing foci represent core tenets of the field, and are expanded upon below.
Ecology and History
This tenet comes from the ‘ecological analogy’, in which the principles of ecology (or environmental biology) are applied to human behavior. The ecological principles of interaction between plant and animal populations and habitat, ecosystem, and biosphere are analogized to the interaction of individuals with their community, environment, society, and world. These spheres of influence or ecological levels are like a Russian nesting doll, organized around the individual (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) and include political, cultural, environmental, institutional, and organizational spheres. An additional component of such a contextual approach is the temporal, or historical realm (Suarez-Balcazar et al., 1992). This ecological understanding informs the understanding that multiple levels of environments influence human behavior (Sarason, 1967; Wandersman & Nation, 1998), and that it is social contexts, rather than psychological or biological deficits, which are the fundamental cause of major social problems (Maton, 2000; Levine et al., 2005).
... More than half a century ago, Szasz (1960) pointed to the role of established moral norms in determining the desired state of mental health. Complementarily, Prilleltensky (1994) indicates that psychological practice has had, and still has, a more stabilizing than destabilizing role in relation to cultural, political, and religious norms by offering justifications supported by a scientific aura. Sexuality is an area in which psychology has had a particularly pronounced role in the strengthening of nonpsychological norms, from the creation of multiple categories of "sexual deviants" (De Block & Adriaens, 2013) to considering the lack of desire for a specific partner to be a sexual dysfunction, even if there is desire toward other people (classified as "acquired situational HSDD"; Conley, Ziegler, Moors, Matsick, & Valentine, 2012). ...
This study examined current and prospective psychotherapists’ attitudes toward different relationship types (monogamy, polyamory, swinging, and cheating). The sample consisted of 324 participants who were presented with hypothetical vignettes of couples involved in each type of relationship and seeking the help of a psychologist due to symptoms of depressive disorders, alcohol abuse, erectile dysfunction, or marital conflicts. The participants rated relationship satisfaction, the morality-, and competence-related abilities of the clients, hypothesized about the source and possible solutions to the problem, and assessed the possibility of finding a therapeutic solution. People in nonmonogamous relationships were rated lower than monogamous ones on scales related to relationship satisfaction, morality, and cognitive abilities. Moreover, the participants often associated the source of nonmonogamous clients’ problems with their lack of sexual exclusivity, while the source of problems in the case of monogamous clients was usually assessed as being unrelated to any aspects of the relationship. A qualitative analysis of the hypotheses and solutions points to strong pathologization of consensual nonmonogamy: it was assumed harmful to the relationship, and people who engage in it were attributed numerous psychologically negative qualities. A distinct tendency to persuade clients to stop pursuing the open relationship format was also visible.
Context and focus
This paper argues that counselling psychology has been shaped by the philosophical and cultural value of individualism. Counselling psychology’s reliance on individual therapy models hinders its potential to actively address social issues that cause or exacerbate many mental health problems. The history and role of UK state-funded individual therapy markets, which employ a significant proportion of counselling psychologists, is examined. Some origins and consequences of counselling psychology’s individualistic ideals are explored. The professionalisation of personal therapy in the UK is traced to the USA and the development of humanistic psychology in the mid-20th century. Humanistic ideals are traced back further, to the 18th and 19th century rhetoric of New World democracy. Some undesirable social consequences of individualism are highlighted. In comparison the paper looks at potentially ‘post-individualistic’ therapeutic philosophies, including feminist and social constructionist approaches but finds that, in practice, they also tend to operate as individual therapy models.
Conclusions
Individual therapy approaches help people cope with conditions arising from the socioeconomic status quo, but don’t necessarily challenge it. Evolving counselling psychology research and practice into more demonstrably socially transformative ways of working would require substantive, and probably unpopular, changes in training, regulation, career pathways and professional identity.
This paper explores: a) the impact of psychology education governance on our understanding of subjectivity and b) how this functions for neoliberal capitalist structures. The ways-of-knowing, power relations and perceptions of subjectivity are approached through texts selected from official documents governing the curriculum, and qualitative interviews with psychology students, including postgraduates with teaching responsibilities. Discourse is analysed using Foucauldian theory. The key findings are that a positivist psychology curriculum a) is largely market driven, b) is a way-of-knowing that subjugates and objectifies the subject c) works to substantiate individualist discourses and that, finally, d) despite claims of neutrality, constructs a subject that works to meet neoliberal capitalist objectives.
Psychology is a discipline with global influence, but continues to neglect disadvantaged minorities and continues to adopt an incorrect model of science. This volume explains what has gone wrong, and what steps should be taken for psychology to become a constructive international force. Historically, psychologists have focused only on causal explanations of behavior, neglecting normatively regulated behavior and intentionality. By giving greater importance to context and collective processes, moving from 'societies to cells,' psychologists can better understand and explain individual behavior. Poverty is an extremely powerful context that shapes cognitions and actions, with destructive consequences for disadvantaged individuals. The advocation of 'be happy psychology' and 'resilience' as solutions to problems faced by the disadvantaged leads to entrenched group-based inequalities, with the poor stuck at the bottom. Moving forwards, this volume proposes that psychologists should focus on normative systems to ultimately foster a more balanced field of study for the future.
We examine a focus group with eight Portuguese psychologists (four career counsellors) on two quantitative studies' results focused on the psychosocial consequences of unemployment/precarity/uncertainty, exploring how do they: give meaning to the results, perceive their professional role, and think that socio-political issues influence their practice. Data were analysed through thematic social-constructionist and critical discourse analyses. Two themes (the construction of the “employable individual” and the limits of psychology), and two discourses (the hegemonic psychological discourse reflecting neoliberal discourses and adaptation to the labour market and “the social context is an aggressor” highlighting socio-political/economic roots of psychological ailments) were identified. We aim to foster a reflection on socially-just practices within career counselling, and to promote people’s agency/conscientisation/emancipation and career development.
En el presente documento se indaga el proceso de negociación de significados para la construcción de repertorios compartidos en la interacción de dos comunidades de practica en el marco de un programa piloto de intervención para mejorar la productividad y competitividad en las actuales formas de relación personas - el trabajo y en el contexto especifico de organizaciones pequeñas o medianas que se ven inmersas en condiciones de limitaciones económicas, tecnologías y de cualificación que las dejan en desventaja frente a los veloces cambios del mundo social, político y económico característicos de la postmodernidad. Con este estudio se pretende aportar al marco de comprensión y explicación psicosocial que posibilite una lectura acerca de las nuevas realidades que se construyen en el contexto Colombiano a nivel de las PyMES. Se utilizaron entrevistas en profundidad, con sujetos de dos empresas en dos ciudades del país, La información se procesó por medio del análisis interpretativo en relatos a partir del abordaje teórico-metodológico de comunidades de práctica. Se identificaron cuatro prácticas de Gestión Humana que impactaron los resultados debido a su carácter fundamental de definir el plan estratégico, el equipo para cumplirlo y un sistema de verificación continua al logro de objetivos estratégicos. También se destaca como aspecto clave el rol dinámico y estratégico de Gestión Humana y la concepción de las personas desde el parte de valor como ser humano.
This article describes the experiences of teaching undergraduate psychology students in an Australian context. The degree course the students take has no community or critical units, but it is one of very few in Australia that has a compulsory standalone unit in qualitative methods. While qualitative methods are by no means necessarily inherently critical or community focused, it has presented an opportunity to the teachers of the unit (the authors of this paper). The authors of this paper, who employ community critical methodologies in their research, aim to design teaching which is also grounded in such theory, wherever possible and despite significant limitations. Such teaching is informed by: challenging taken for granted assumptions; deconstruction and problem posing; making things uncomfortable; and relating differently. The paper describes a design of teaching where all the students undertake research projects exploring the research question: “what does psychology offer community?” Following a description of the methodologies and teaching practices, the authors reflect subjectively on their experiences working with the students, on opportunities which arose and on structural boundaries which appear to make community critical methodologies in university teaching very difficult.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.