Community Psychology: In Pursuit of Liberation and Well-being
... Following Freire's pedagogy of the oppressed (1970), PAR is aligned with the values of social justice and inclusion, with the aim to promote positive social change for disadvantaged people. (Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2005). ...
... Adapting the role of research expert to that of collaborator means a shift towards a more equal relationship between researchers and participants, which creates a more balanced exchange of knowledge. This further means that results must be delivered as a part of the ongoing research process and must be communicated in understandable language, free of research jargon (Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2005). ...
... The third principle, social justice, should be practiced at all levels of research, including project planning and funding. In the most successful cases, the research budget is directed at increasing training, education and employment opportunities for the disadvantaged, and research results are utilized for creating social change (Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2005). Researchers must be sensitive to the needs and opinions of participants and help them to become agents of change through a participatory process. ...
This publication is intended for everyone interested in ethics professionally: research, development and innovation (RDI) actors, educational agents, funders and higher education institutions. The publication will offer insights into ethics work within RDI activities and development of education. With this publication we also want to showthat ethics is a vivid part of everyday life of Laurea University of Applied Sciences in RDI and education.
... Community psychology is a transformative value-based praxis that aims to address social injustice, inequality, and real-world issues that face marginalised, relatively less powerful and minority groups (Prilleltensky, 2001;Nelson and Prilleltensky, 2010). It is under-pinned by social justice, equity, and ultimately aims for the liberation of humans and communities from oppressive systems (Fondacaro and Weinberg, 2002;Nelson and Prilleltensky, 2010). ...
... Community psychology is a transformative value-based praxis that aims to address social injustice, inequality, and real-world issues that face marginalised, relatively less powerful and minority groups (Prilleltensky, 2001;Nelson and Prilleltensky, 2010). It is under-pinned by social justice, equity, and ultimately aims for the liberation of humans and communities from oppressive systems (Fondacaro and Weinberg, 2002;Nelson and Prilleltensky, 2010). As such, it focuses on multiple levels of analysisfrom the smaller settings in which people find themselves, such as families, schools, or work, to broader communities, countries, cultures, societies, and within historical, structural and social contexts (Levine, Perkins and Perkins, 2005). ...
... Community Psychology works with and in communities to promote indigenous resources, solutions, and autonomy (Orford, 1992;Prilleltensky, 2001;Nelson and Prilleltensky, 2010). This approach means being centred in communities to understand what action, knowledge or resource would be helpful, or can be sought, and to bring about emancipation or social changesomething that is sorely lacking in autism research. ...
... More importantly, the module afforded our students a chance to engage in action beyond the classroom. Guided by community psychology's values of support for community, participation, social justice, and respect for diversity (Kagan et al., 2020;Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2010), our teaching and research have legitimised the place of LGBT+ themes in Philippine psychology through knowledge generation and sharing. ...
... The number of PAP LGBT SIG members has continued to increase. This growth is in part due to shared goals such as social justice and inclusion, goals which resonate with some of the central values that guide community psychologists (Kagan et al., 2020;Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2010). Many of our activities have been guided by the principle of 'nothing about us without us' (Charlton, 1998) through the involvement of speakers from grassroots LGBT+ organisations beyond the psychology community. ...
... As Salvador (2016) points out, there is a lack of LGBT+ affirmative training in Philippine clinical and counselling psychology. At a deeper level, this may also be grounded in a disconnect between P R E -P R I N T P R E -P R I N T P R E -P R I N T P R E -P R I N T P R E -P R I N T P R E -P R I N T P R E -P R I N T P R E -P R I N T P R E -P R I N T P R E -P R I N T P R E -P R I N T P R E -P R I N T P R E -P R I N T P R E -P R I N T P R E -P R I N T P R E -P R I N T P R E -P R I N T P R E -P R I N T the dominant, individually focused approaches in clinical/counselling psychology versus those emphasised in LGBT+ rights and well-being work which, similar to community psychology, takes a systems-oriented perspective that focuses on challenging and changing social structures towards social justice (Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2010). Recently, in order to introduce an LGBT+-inclusive perspective across practice areas, we have collaborated with colleagues from the PAP's clinical and counselling psychology divisions to conduct workshops on LGBT+ affirmative psychosocial support practice. ...
This chapter describes the experiences of psychologists taking action for the rights and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities in the country context of the Philippines. We reflect on our work as Filipino psychologists in various forms of advocacy and community engagement from 2010 to the present. Three case studies are presented: knowledge generation and dissemination, community organising within the psychology profession, and collaboration with LGBT+ activists toward social change. We utilise community psychological frameworks, in our particular cultural context, to highlight the value of reaching out beyond academic spaces to build community collaboration ('nothing about us without us'), diskarte (the Filipino concept of creative problem-solving in the face of constraints such as limited resources), and queering (the playful subversion of normative ways of thinking and doing, to uncover systems of power and achieve group goals). We suggest that by recognising and applying key principles, strategies, and perspectives used by community psychologists, we can imagine-and create-social change that empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other gender and sexual minorities in the Philippines and beyond.
... In contrast, some studies propose the multi-level nature of well-being. According to Nelson and Prilleltensky [42], well-being consists of the personal (e.g., self-esteem, independence), inter-personal (e.g., supportive relationships and engagement in society), and collective levels of well-being (e.g., ability to acquire community resources). They emphasize that well-being involves not only an individual's own well-being but also how that individual interacts with others and lives in a particular environment. ...
... In this study, we intend to integrate and simplify the various perspectives and explore three aspects of well-being, namely, intra-personal, inter-personal, and extra-personal aspects [24], to integrate well-being components into a sustainable PSS. Based on the perspectives of Nelson and Prilleltensky [42], and Calvo and Peters [24], we exemplify the intra-personal, inter-personal, and extra-personal aspects of well-being in a sustainable PSS and connect them with Maslow's hierarchy of needs [43]; see Figure 3. ...
To regain overall well-being in the post-pandemic era, the priorities should not be only economic growth but also human physical and mental health. This study investigates how to incorporate the concept of well-being into the circular economy to facilitate the pursuit of individual/personal and social growth, and sustainable consumption. We begin with a systematic search of the literature on well-being and sustainable product–service systems, model the well-being components in peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing and reuse platforms, and propose design guidelines for platform development. According to our findings, (1) allocentric well-being components (such as gratitude, contribution, and altruism) serve as the antecedents of sharing behaviors, while egocentric components (such as pleasure and attachment) serve as the consequences, and (2) information sharing is crucial to initiating the flow of well-being perceptions and sustainable sharing and reuse behaviors. Based on the findings, we suggest a data-driven approach and active inference theory to facilitate related studies. This study sheds light on the potential to develop well-being within the circular economy and facilitate the sustainable working of the sharing and reuse ecosystem.
... Annenin temel bakım veren olarak görülmesi ve toplum tarafından annelik rolü konusunda yaygın biçimde kabul edilen kalıpyargılar, anneden alınan bakımın ve ilginin babadan alınan bakım ve ilgiden daha katı biçimde değerlendirilmesine yol açıyor olabilir. Pek çok toplumda, ailenin başat tanımı orta sınıf, ilk evliliğini yapmış heteroseksüel bir çift ve onların biyolojik çocuklarından oluşan çekirdek bir aileyi resmeder ve bu ailede ev kadını olan bir anne ve çalışan bir baba bulunur (Ganong ve ark., 1990;Nelson ve Prilleltensky, 2010 ). Elbette yıllar içinde toplumsal cinsiyet rollerinde ortaya çıkan değişimleri ve kültürel farklılıkları dikkate aldığımızda bu tür bir genelleme tartışmaya açıktır. ...
... Elbette yıllar içinde toplumsal cinsiyet rollerinde ortaya çıkan değişimleri ve kültürel farklılıkları dikkate aldığımızda bu tür bir genelleme tartışmaya açıktır. Ancak kitle iletişim araçları, sosyal medya, dil, yasal sistemler ve dinler sürekli olarak bu aile düzeninin norm olduğu mesajını iletirler (Nelson ve Prilleltensky, 2010). Bu sosyal bağlam ebeveynliğe ve aileye ilişkin hem kamusal hem de bilimsel alanda kalıpyargıları, tutumları, kavramsallaştırmaları ve yorumları biçimlendirir (Georgas ve ark., 2006). ...
Somatic complaints are a prevalent psychological problem many adults experience. Alexithymia is characterized by
difficulty identifying and expressing feelings and is widely considered to be a strong predictor of somatic complaints.
Previous studies have indicated adverse childhood experiences to be associated with alexithymia and somatization. In
this regard, interpersonal acceptance-rejection theory provides a comprehensive perspective that focuses on the effects
the caregiver-infancy relationship that is established in the early years of life has on personality characteristics and
psychological well-being. The aim of the current research is to examine the effects of perceived parental rejection on
alexithymia and somatic complaints in adults using two separate models. The study will analyze the effect of maternal
rejection while controlling for the effect of paternal rejection, as well as the effect of paternal rejection while controlling
for the effect of maternal rejection. The research also intends to contribute to the literature by investigating the
mediating roles the three sub-dimensions of alexithymia has on these relationships. Data were collected online from 328
participants in Türkiye, of whom 224 are women and 104 are men. All participants filled out a socio-demographic form,
the Somatization Subscale of the Symptom Checklist 90-R (SCL-90-R; Derogatis, 1977), the mother and father versions
of the Adult Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire (Rohner & Khaleque, 2005), and the Toronto Alexithymia
Scale (TAS-20; Bagby et al., 1994). The results reveal perceived maternal rejection to predict somatization as well as
the TAS-20 subscales of difficulty identifying emotions and difficulty expressing emotions when controlling for the
effect of perceived paternal rejection. In addition, the TAS-20 component of difficulty identifying emotions was found
to mediate the relationship between perceived maternal rejection and somatization. Perceived paternal rejection had no
statistically significant effects on somatization or the sub-dimensions of alexithymia when controlling for the effect of
perceived maternal rejection. The results confirm previous research regarding the relationship between somatization and
alexithymia. Additionally, this research expands on the results in the literature by emphasizing how perceived parental
rejection from the mother predicts somatization through the sub-dimensions of alexithymia. The findings have been
evaluated in light of the literature, with the study’s strengths, limitations, practical implications, and recommendations
for future research also being discussed.
... This study subscribes to a transformative worldview (Nelson and Prilleltensky, 2010), wherein the research team and study participants are equals in the research process and pursue a shared horizon in which tourism is an enabler of socioeconomic prosperity in the community. Accordingly, literature in Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org ...
... community psychology calls for transformational scholarship in the social sciences, stressing the limitations of conventional mainstream psychology and other social sciences (Wisner et al., 1991;Seymour-Rolls and Hughes, 2000;Davis, 2008). Hence, participatory-action research (PAR) goes beyond the boundaries of traditional paradigms of research that call for the least disturbance in the study environment, being instead a method primarily concerned with bringing about social change to participants in the research process (Seymour-Rolls and Hughes, 2000;Nelson and Prilleltensky, 2010). Importantly, PAR can use quantitative and/or qualitative methods. ...
Tourism microentrepreneurship is an important farm diversification strategy, also contributing to the competitiveness of the destination. However, psychological and structural constraints seem to hold back farmers when it comes to starting or expanding tourism operations. We argue that social capital derived from farmers’ social networks affords sources of entrepreneurial self-efficacy, which boosts entrepreneurial intention. Analysis of survey data from 207 farmers in North Carolina revealed an adequate SEM model fit and strong significant relationships between bridging social capital and tourism microentrepreneurial self-efficacy. Internal self-efficacy factors were strongly and significantly associated with entrepreneurial intention. Triangulation with qualitative data from participatory-action research reinforced the importance of informal networking processes to model entrepreneurial behavior that boosts self-efficacy and reaffirms microentrepreneurial intentions. However, external self-efficacy was not significantly associated with farmers’ entrepreneurial intentions, which may be attributable to ambiguous agritourism policy.
... The commission, deployed by the President of South Africa, positioned education as central to achieving the overarching democratic goals of eliminating poverty and reducing inequality. This thus positioned education as an important site for the liberation and well-being (Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2010) of our country's majority. This central positioning is not unlike positioning produced in other nations' development discourses in the sub-Saharan African region (Lemon, 2004). ...
Community psychology takes an explicitly political stance by identifying where power lies and how it is exercised in ways that maintain privilege and discrimination against particular groups. From this perspective, we consider the challenges facing school education in South Africa today. Education is positioned as an important site for the liberation and well-being of our country’s majority. However, the state of education is marked by persistent inequalities. From a Foucauldian perspective, this paper presents a meta-synthesis of school education literature and identifies prominent discourses circulating around the country’s basic education sector: the discourses of democracy, human rights, and good governance; rights; development; scarce skills; the crisis in education; and privatisation are discussed. We consider the role of these discourses in the wider social processes of legitimation and power in education, and subjective implications for youth. We note the various ways in which discourses responsibilise youth and surrounding stakeholders, and how others position them as resources for the neoliberal capitalist economy. We argue for the role of counter-discourses and a collective emancipatory perspective to advance transformational educational change and embrace opportunities in the future.
... In this study, autonomy means being unbiased and self-reliant. Autonomy is considered as a dimension of well-being that increases independence (Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2005). In the current study, the participants' striving for autonomy is expressed as a force to be unbiased and to keep their dignity and pleasure, regardless of their unlawful status. ...
... This study aims to explore and understand conditions and experiences of mattering for older adults in service-assisted recovery processes from substance use problems. By a collaborative research approach including a community psychological, sociological and collaborative research point of reference (34)(35)(36), we assume that older adults recovering from substance use problems are social agents and experts on their own lived experiences. They understand best their conditions promoting and challenging experiences in their personal recovery processes. ...
Aim: Mattering is a fundamental human experience promoting crucial components to later-life recovery processes. Today, the largest population of older adult persons with substance use problems, so far, is on a steep rise in many Western countries. To tailor and offer substance use services promoting mattering, more knowledge about later life mattering of older adults recovering with the assistance of substance use services is needed. This study aims to explore conditions for, and experiences of, mattering in older adults in service-assisted recovery from substance use problems.
Methods: A collaborative and deductive reflexive thematic approach was applied in analysing 23 interviews with participants using substance use services in their recovery processes from different substance use problems: alcohol, medication and illegal substances. The participants were recruited from three different Norwegian contexts: two urban and one medium size municipality. The age of the sample ranged from 65-80 years, with approximately equal numbers for those aged 60-69 (12 participants) and 70-80 (11 participants). Seven participants were women and 16 men.
Results: Two main themes were identified in the data: “Conditions for later life mattering” and “Experiences of mattering from community relationships and own actions”. The findings illustrate various conditions for mattering and experiences of mattering and not mattering in later life recovery processes.
Conclusions: Several participants experienced not mattering; promoted by lack of support, disrespect and devaluation and loss of relationships, but also being ignored and not receiving fair treatment and help by service professionals. Overall, the participants’ mattering depended on fair and healthy community relationships; fair distribution of resources such as affordable housing, accessible transportation, and fair organizational structures where participants could feel valued and also have a chance themselves to add value to others. Several practical implications to enhance the therapeutic and preventive potentials of later life mattering in recovery are suggested.
... The term sense of community was first used by Seymour Sarason in 1974 in [6]. ...
A sense of community is very important for the management of an organization. It can help maintain the continuity of the organization and the proactive attitude of its members. Based on the results of a pretest conducted on 21 IFoP administrators for the 2021 period, it was found that four administrators had a very low sense of community and three administrators had a low sense of community. These seven administrators received an intervention in the form of an appreciative inquiry method to increase their sense of community. The research design used in this method was a quasi experiment with one-group pretest-posttest design. The pretest and posttest used a modified measuring instrument called Sense of Community Index-2 from McMillan & Chavis. Meanwhile, the appreciative inquiry method used the stages proposed by Cooperrider, Whitney and Stavros. The results showed that there was a difference in the level of sense of community after the intervention compared to before. The Wilcoxon test that was carried out on the pretest and posttest scores of the research subjects showed a significant result with a p-value of 0.018 (< 0.05). Based on these results, it can be concluded that the appreciative inquiry method can be used to increase the sense of community. Keywords: appreciative inquiry, sense of community, IFoP
... Community participatory action research (CPAR) approaches allow us to explore the ability to identify strengths and solutions produced by communities for communities, connecting them to wider systems, while acknowledging them as agents with the capacity to create effective, context-sensitive solutions. 13 As Colombia begins to refocus its efforts towards achieving these global and national policy aims, three critical areas require attention: (1) wider social and political contextual factors that drive experiences of poor mental health, 14 (2) increasing understanding of local embodied knowledge and lived experiences of communities and their relevance for building knowledge about mental health, 15 and (3) the role and resources offered by community participation in the codesign of interventions and services that are effective. 8 In response to these demands, we will implement a participatory process to design, implement and evaluate a participatory intervention to strengthen community mental healthcare systems in two PDET communities in Caquetá-Colombia. ...
Introduction
Mental healthcare systems are challenged by how they hear and respond to what marginalised communities experience as drivers of mental distress. In Colombia, this challenge intersects with wider challenges facing post-conflict reconstruction. Our pilot study will explore the feasibility and acceptability of a participatory approach to developing community-led participatory interventions for community mental health systems strengthening and mental health improvement, in two sites in Caquetá, Colombia.
Methods and analysis
The project is divided into three distinct phases aligned with community participatory action research cycles: diagnostic, intervention and evaluation. This allows us to use a participatory approach to design a community-led, bottom-up intervention for mental health systems strengthening and the promotion of mental health and well-being.
The diagnostic phase explores local understandings of mental health, mental distress and access to mental health services from community members and health providers. The intervention stage will be guided by a participatory Theory of Change process. Community priorities will inform the development of a participatory, learning and action (PLA) informed group intervention, with a community linkage forum. The pilot of the PLA intervention will be evaluated using MRC process evaluation guidelines.
Ethics and dissemination
This project has received ethical approval from two sources. Universidad de Los Andes (2021–1393) and the University College London (16127/005). Dissemination of findings will include academic publications, community forums, policy briefs and visual media (cartoons, pod casts and short films).
... Dorongan pendekatan kesehatan masyarakat pada pencegahan bertujuan untuk mengurangi tekanan lingkungan dan untuk memperbesar resistensi host terhadap tekanan tersebut. Pendekatan kesehatan masyarakat pada pencegahan telah berhasil mengurangi insiden terjadinya banyak penyakit (Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2010). Istilah perilaku kesehatan didefinisikan dalam beragam cara. ...
Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) is a public health problem in the world. Dengue control and prevention highly depend on vector control, Aedes Aegypti since no vaccine has been found for prevention. Effective, sustained community participation for dengue prevention remains a challenge in Jagakarsa District. This study explored perceptions of DHF preventive behavior as well as preventive behaviors among mothers in Jagakarsa District. The finding may be used to develop messages for improving DHF preventive behavior. This study uses descriptive study design by collecting data qualitatively through semi-structured interviews using the basic theory of the Health Belief Model (HBM). This research was conducted in September-October 2018. The finding of the study is the percieve of barriers that were greater than the perceive of benefits among mothers in Jagakarsa Subdistrict making mothers have a likelihood not to perform DHF preventive behavior such as don’t clean water container regularly and hanging used clothes outised cupboard. The conclusion of this study is intervention needed in giving messages by considering perceive of benefits and barriers as well as giving messages via mobile phone channels (WhatsApp applications) that can improve DHF preventive behavior.
... For community-psykologerne er magtulighed et af grundvilkårene i undertrykkelse (Nelson & Prilleltensky 2005). Den strukturelle vold giver en oplevelse af magtesløshed, som fører til direkte vold, der så igen får gerningsmanden til at opleve en form for magt eller kontrol, om end bare for en kort stund. ...
Den høje voldsrate i Kalaallit Nunaat (Grønland) forklares ofte ud fra alkoholmisbrug og affektive handlinger. I denne artikel vises det gennem en kvantitativ og kvalitativ undersøgelse, at den episodiske vold må forstås som symptomer på strukturel vold. Den strukturelle vold er en kontekst, der fremmer følelser af magtesløshed, social isolation, undgåelse af konflikter og undertrykkelse af følelser – indtil de eksploderer i konkret vold. Den strukturelle vold både legitimerer og forstår den konkrete vold, men den åbner også for interventioner, der kan ændre netop den strukturelle vold. Den strukturelle vold er skadelig for unge, da den fremmer og legitimerer vold. Community mobiliseringsprojektet Paamiut Asasara har vist gode resultater med at sænke antallet af husspektakler samt med at styrke ikke-voldelig konfliktløsning. Dette bidrager til at ændre opvækstvilkårene og livsvilkår for de unge.
... som følge af undvigeadfaerden hos PTSD-ramte, hvilket ofte medfører, at der støder yderligere komplikationer til i form af depressioner, misbrug og selvmordsforsøg. Derudover er de to almindeligste følger af psykiske sygdomme ensomhed og isolation (Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2010). Soldater, der forlader Forsvaret og herefter oplever psykiske problemer, er i den forbindelse en saerlig risikogruppe, idet der i dagligdagen ikke er nogen med faglig indsigt, der har øje for deres vanskeligheder. ...
Denne artikel tager afsæt i en undersøgelse af, hvordan støtteprocesser i en lokalforankret støtteforening kan styrke krigsveteraner med PTSD og/eller andre psykiske vanskeligheder i at opnå øget sundhed. Artiklen omhandler den del af undersøgelsen, der forholder sig til veteranernes identitet og selvopfattelse, samt hvordan disse påvirkes af den offentlige mening og debat. Ligeledes er der i artiklen fokus på foreningens initiativer, og hvilken betydning de har for veteranernes adgang til anden støtte og behandling.
... Det første kriterie om at inkludere studier omkring børn og unge har vaeret bredt defineret ud fra et community-psykologisk videnskabsteoretisk udgangspunkt. Børn og unge ses ikke som fritsvaevende individer, men som inter-relateret med samfundets voksne, organisationer, netvaerk og muligheder (Kloos et al., 2012;Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2010;Orford, 1999). Herunder skal ordet omkring signalere denne definering, hvor reviewet inkluderer studier med emner omkring børn og unges liv, for eksempel studier om familier, levevilkår, helbred, institutions-og samfundsmaessige forhold. ...
Dette review indeholder en samling af 43 empiriske psykologisk-,sundheds- og samfundsrelaterede studier omkring børnog unge i Østgrønland, publiceret i perioden 1976-2016. Studierneer indsamlet via en systematisk søgning i forskellige databaser,tidsskrifter og publiceringslister samt en gråzonesøgningvia blandt andet lokale netvaerk i Østgrønland. Reviewetinkluderer studier fra nationale forskningsprojekter, hvor østgrønlandskeforhold er inddraget og brugt til sammenligningmed vestlige forhold samt mere isoleret østgrønlandsk forskning.Reviewet viser, hvordan den nationale forskning overvejendefokuserer på problematiserende forhold via kvantitativebeskrivende forskningsmetoder, mens den lokale forskningfortrinsvis indbefatter kvalitative studier, der dels indeholderforslag til, hvad man kan gøre lokalt for at komme problemernetil livs, og dels inddrager et syn på styrker og ressourcer i Østgrønland.Det vurderes i artiklen, at hvis forskningen har tilhensigt at bane vejen for forebyggende sociale indsatser, børforskerne inkludere en vurdering omkring, hvorvidt selve forskningspraksissen diskursivt er med til at skabe problemorienterendeidentifikation af østgrønlandske forhold og mennesker.
... We employed a PAR approach that aims to empower citizens through involvement in urban development, resulting in increased resources and relations (see Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2005). As a part of a PAR design, the various data were collected in different phases of the research process and the participants were considered as agents of change (Kemmis & McTaggart, 2000). ...
... In line with the principle of embedded interdependence, it is not until the communities of oppressed people achieve liberation that everyone in society will be liberated because the conditions of liberation for members of oppressed groups will invoke the necessary conditions for the liberation of the entire society (F. L. Hamer, 1971;Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2010). ...
In this conceptual article, we assert that psychology should be transformed to adopt the explicit goal of working toward the liberation of people oppressed by society rather than striving for mere equality. To achieve such a transformation, it is necessary to reenvision graduate training in psychology. Graduate training in psychology is an important vehicle by which psychologists can become prepared to use research and practice to eradicate inequities in society. Therefore, we propose six pillars for liberation-focused graduate training in psychology: critical unlearning/unknowing, cooperative modes of production, prioritizing indigenous knowledge, embedded interdependence, systems-level action, and prioritizing members of oppressed groups. Although this conceptualization may engender resistance, we argue that there are many potential pathways by which graduate training may use liberation psychology to work equitably with oppressed groups to seek justice.
... Sense of community is often described as the main value of Neo-Traditional Development or New Urbanism (Audirac, 1999;"Bye-Bye Suburban Dream, " 1995;Kelbaugh, 1997). Enhancing individual and community well-being can be achieved by "psychological sense of community" (Nelson and Prilleltensky, 2005). Hence, the main cause for the adverse psychological impacts of living in suburbs evaluated in this study can be linked to the lack of sense of community. ...
The urban fabric of traditional neighborhoods is compact and pedestrian friendly and features mixed land use, while contemporary conventional suburban developments are low density and auto oriented with segregated land use. Two hundred older residents, one hundred living in traditional neighborhoods and one hundred living in conventional suburbs, were surveyed. Customized questionnaires were used to measure four variables, including the level of 1) somatic symptoms, 2) anxiety/insomnia, 3) social dysfunction, and 4) severe depression. Central tendency measures, standard deviation, and multivariate tests were applied to compare the four variables in both groups. The result revealed that a traditional neighborhood setting has a greater sense of community and therefore positive impacts on its residents as it relates to somatic symptoms and social dysfunction compared to
conventional suburbs. Further assessment in this study explored the higher level social interaction of residents in traditional neighborhoods due to community design and how it relates to a higher level of psychological health.
... Well-being has always been a central concern of community psychology, a discipline which emerged in the United States in part to emphasize the importance of health and not just illness (Kelly, 1987;Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2010). In the early 1990s, Cowen (1991Cowen ( , 1994 advocated for a wellness framework that could guide community psychology inquiry. ...
Mattering, defined as synergistic experiences of feeling valued and adding value, is a
psychosocial construct with underappreciated pragmatic potential. It has explanatory
relevance across disciplines, domains of life, and social contexts. It is also both
parsimonious and far-reaching in uniting areas of concern relevant to community
psychologists and the needs, values, and goals of diverse communities. Nevertheless, it
has received limited attention in the community psychology (CP) literature.
This dissertation will develop and provide empirical support for an ecological
understanding of mattering suited to community research and practice. Empirical support
is furnished in three studies using large, representative U.S. samples. The first evaluates a
novel multidimensional measure of mattering (MIDLS), providing evidence of MIDLS’
validity as a bifactor measure of general and domain-specific mattering. The second
study provides evidence of differences between demographic groups in domain-specific
mattering. Finally, covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) is used to
assess the relationships between multidimensional mattering, fairness, and well-being in
six life domains. Findings suggest that mattering fully mediates the relationship between
fairness and well-being for all domains investigated except economic well-being.
Taken together, these studies show that mattering can be conceived and assessed in
multidimensional terms; that doing so can yield novel insights; and that mattering has
unique value as an organizing construct which helps map the relationship between key
community psychology values and outcomes. The dissertation concludes with a
discussion of key limitations and implications as well as next steps for a program of
research which can actualize the pragmatic potential of multidimensional mattering for
community research and practice.
... For example, the concepts of autonomy and protection, despite the relative merits of both in the provision of quality care, are not synonymous (Galphin & Parker, 2007;Thompson, 2001). The terms 'adult protection' and 'vulnerable adult' may imply dependence on statutory services, whereas autonomous self-determination reflects an ideology of empowerment (Williams & Keating, 2000;Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2005). Such dichotomies are likely to impact practitioner views and responses to abuse allegations with the risk of inadequate support being provided if one concept is of greater ideological value than the other (Galphin & Parker, 2007). ...
The abuse and neglect of adults at risk is increasingly recognised as a social problem in the U.K. Policy development for the protection of at risk adults has seen substantial growth since the publication of the No Secrets (2000) guidance. Despite cumulative evidence that NHS mental health services have been slow to engage with the national adult safeguarding agenda, there is a paucity of research in this area. The aim of this doctoral research was to explore and critically analyse the use and implementation of adult safeguarding practices in NHS mental health services. A Grounded Theory (GT) approach was adopted to develop theory inductively through data collection and analysis. A total of sixteen participants were interviewed from within three NHS mental health trusts, including: 10 (62%) strategic leaders for adult safeguarding and 6 (38%) operational personnel. The results revealed three conceptual components central to the implementation of adult safeguarding in mental health, namely: establishing structures, processes and procedures; challenges to effective implementation; and transition to a progressive future.Barriers invariably hamper the establishment of effective adult safeguarding practice within services, some of which are specific to mental health contexts. The findings of this research demonstrate a need for the development of multi-dimensional strategies that anticipate the contingencies of service contexts with greater consideration of the factors that inevitably impact adults at risk in mental health services.
... By gathering stories rather than giving labels, the structural violence, power, and forces of oppression and marginalisation that lead to distress can be acknowledged (Johnstone & Boyle, 2018). This stance also requires a shift in the positioning of the practitioner, from someone who is 'expert' to a 'resource collaborator', opening up possibilities of how and who can undertake this work (Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2005). ...
The Tree of Life methodology (ToL) is a Collective Narrative Practice developed to support communities to respond to collective hardships and trauma from a place of strength. In seeking more culturally-appropriate, localised, community-centred approaches towards
global mental health provision, ToL has great potential. However, whilst there is a growing knowledge base regarding ToL, there is a sparsity of empirical literature. In particular, little is known about what leads practitioners to use ToL and how they experience the
possibilities of its use in community contexts, both important knowledge(s) to support the understanding, deconstruction, improvement and future uptake of the methodology. Using
semi-structured interviews, this inquiry sought the experiences of 19 practitioners, who work(ed) across 16 different countries using ToL in community contexts. The inquiry aimed, specifically, to understand the personal and professional impact of this work, the opportunities and challenges afforded by ToL, whether the practice differs from other
practices, and what leads people to use ToL within community contexts. A Reflexive Thematic Analysis of the conversations with practitioners constructed three main themes: ‘Encountering Possibility’, ‘A Contrasting Way of Being and Doing’, and ‘Shared Humanity’. Eleven respective sub-themes were constructed, and together the analysis told a story that practitioners experience the methodology as one of ‘possibility’, different to other
approaches in the way practitioners are able to work and be alongside others, sharing their stories in an authentic way and contributing to a joint humanity that leads to both connection and action. Implications for practitioners, the continued use of ToL, clinical psychology and the wider context were outlined. A critical appraisal and several possibilities for future inquiry were presented.
... For much community psychology, conflict has been understood as an issue that is to be resolved, with little engagement with the generative qualities of conflict (Brodsky & Faryal, 2006;Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2010). This drive for resolution risks not only ignoring the material circumstances that give rise to conflict in the first place (see Cornell et al., 2020) but also promoting adaptation to capitalism over anti-capitalist antagonism. ...
This chapter is concerned with putting a psychology of community to work for anti-capitalist social movements (i.e. formalised anti-capitalist politics). Accordingly, I focus on the four modes of collective anti-capitalist resistance with which I have had the most experience in my community-engaged psychological work, namely, political organising, affective community-building, solidarity-making, and reflexive engagement. Throughout the chapter, I attempt to demonstrate how a psychology of community can bend in accordance with the demands of anti-capitalist community struggle, rather than vice versa. I conclude by illustrating this chapter’s concerns with an example from my own community-engaged work, specifically a participatory filmmaking project that was conducted with community members from Thembelihle, a low-income community in South Africa.
... For much community psychology, conflict has been understood as an issue that is to be resolved, with little engagement with the generative qualities of conflict (Brodsky & Faryal, 2006;Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2010). This drive for resolution risks not only ignoring the material circumstances that give rise to conflict in the first place (see but also promoting adaptation to capitalism over anti-capitalist antagonism. ...
Anti-capitalist political struggle is a site of struggling psychologies. Conscious political action is never far from unconscious desire, and the fight for material justice is always also the fight for dignity and psychological well-being. Yet, how might community psychologists conceive of their discipline in a way that opposes the very capitalist political economy that, historically, most of the psy-disciplines have bolstered in return for disciplinary legitimacy? In its consideration of an anti-capitalist psychology of community, this book does not ignore or try to resolve the contradictory position of such a psychology. Instead, it draws on these contradictions to enliven psychology to the shifting demands - both creative and destructive - of a community-centred anti-capitalism. Using practical examples, the book deals with the psychological components of building community-centred social movements that challenge neoliberal capitalism as a political system, an ideology, and a mode of governing rationality. The book also offers several theoretical contributions that grapple with how an anti-capitalist psychology of community can remain attentive to the psychological elements of anti-capitalist struggle; what the psychological can tell us about anti-capitalist politics; and how these politics can shape the psychological.
... 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.
The systemic nature of the ecological crisis has prompted a wide range of research into transformative social change. Education, however, is largely absent from that literature, despite clear evidence of its role in contributing to the crisis. Following a review of a few of the main approaches to theorizing change, notably the literature on social-ecological resilience, this chapter focuses on the field of transformative or systemic design as the most promising framework for catalyzing radical educational reform. We draw on the Multi-Level Perspective on sustainability transitions to visualize such local “niche-innovations” as emerging in the context of the end of the Capitalocene, the socio-economic-political landscape sustaining the current educational regime. In order to create the conditions for systemic change, education for living within the Earth’s carrying capacity needs to incorporate principles that disrupt core assumptions of the Capitalocene. We propose six such principles to guide the work of transformational educational design.
Educators working for fundamental social change in response to the ecological crisis approach the challenge in a diversity of ways. This chapter summarizes a wide range of practices, competencies, capacities, and capabilities in four complementary “stances”—essentially, four different kinds of educational “ethos” for change. These are the critical educator, who plays the roles of activist (critiquing existing relationships and norms), ally (walking alongside and opening space for voices and practices that have been marginalized), and advocate (articulating and advancing alternatives to the status quo); the community educator, who facilitates relationship-building and collective flourishing (with children, caregivers, knowledge holders, communities, the more-than-human); the change educator, who guides processes of dealing with risk, uncertainty, discomfort, and disruption (developing individual and collective strategies to respond to challenges and losses: grieve, adapt, rebuild, transform); and the coeur/care educator, who supports and nurtures well-being (responding to trauma, depression and oppression, building capacity for self-care and resilience, connecting with the sacred). Each stance is described in some detail and some key capacities and practices are proposed.
The number of people in exile is rising. Sexual and ethnic minority refugee and asylum-seeking people present with special needs. This study utilised a collective narrative participatory design to explore how storying collective ways of resisting the effects of trauma, amongst gay and lesbian forced migrant people of Black African and Asian backgrounds in an urban context (London, UK) can be constitutive of healing. To do this, purposeful sampling procedures were pursued. Data collection was through individual and group format story telling sessions. Both sessions were structured around a co-constructed metaphor ‘Passport of Life’. Narrative analysis was employed to examine the data, co-shaped with participants. Findings indicate that participants’ (collective) storytelling is crafted as a site for resistances to emerge and be re-affirmed. Resistance pathways are inextricably linked to participants’ diverse subjectivities. Healing is constituted as a dynamic process, bound by narrated and physical configurations of spaces of togetherness, which have re-definitional, hope-inducing, and social justice properties. The results support the use of participatory and narrative means for expanding (untold) stories of overcoming and supporting opportunities for healing and redress amongst this population. Implications for policy making, research, and psychological practice are considered.
Guidebook to Community Consulting provides advice for people interested in starting or growing a career in community consulting. Drawing on the authors' years of experience as community consultants, it offers a wealth of practical guidance to anyone considering or establishing a successful career serving and empowering communities. It includes guidance about the personal qualities, values, and technical skills needed; how to start a consulting practice; how to collaborate with colleagues, and most importantly, how to collaborate with communities. Practical advice and tips are motivated by core guiding principles and goals including an understanding of consulting as a partnership between consultants and communities; decoloniality; anti-racism, and equity. The text is animated with illustrative anecdotes and lessons gained from real-world experience.
This article details a community psychology informed project aimed to acknowledge, address and challenge the potential inequalities faced by people with a diagnosis of learning disability1 when they become parents.
This chapter describes the role of the religious self in relation to sustainability ideation. The religious self that can foster sustainability ideation is the genuine religious self. The process is to realize the duty of humans as a caliphate and learn the science of God’s creation as part of human obedience to God. The traditional perspective of religiosity that separates the science of religion from the general science, and considers the general science has nothing to do with religiosity, needs to be retheorized. Retheorization is necessary. Thinking about religiosity provides the opportunity to a Muslim who studies the natural sciences and other sciences to carry out the human duties as caliph, namely guarding the earth.
Education support services are aimed at addressing learner well-being holistically. Learner performance is linked to sufficient psychological, medical and social support. This study was an evaluation of a non-governmental organisation aimed at providing learners with psycho-social support and used the application of an Appreciative Inquiry approach. An Appreciative Inquiry approach is a method for generating change within an organisation by looking at what works in the organisation and facilitating active participation. The main findings from this study were that the programme seems to have positively affected learners’ performance both academically and behaviourally; the programme was perceived to have raised the general standard of academic performance at the school.
Disaster management refers to a cycle of mitigation, preparedness and response and recovery strategies. The phases merge into one another and are not distinct. The overall goal is sustainable development and an increase of resilience in order to mitigate disaster effects. Resilience in the face of a disaster describes the adaptive capacities of communities and societies. It enables the mobilization of resources in order to adjust to the new environment. Disaster management usually focuses on collectives; the discipline of psychology rather emphasizes the individual level and tends to neglect political and historical contexts. In this chapter, an understanding of resilience as a product of cultural, social, economic, political and psychological factors is developed. The psychological concept of resilience is expanded by communal dimensions of solidarity and social conflict when a disaster hits.KeywordsResilienceDisaster managementPsychologySolidaritySocial conflict
Philosophy of science and ontological assumptions underpin our work as scholars, explicitly, or implicitly. In this paper, we develop empowerment theory with a critical realism (CR) lens. Through the example of a study of empowerment, we examine how can it be used as a guiding paradigm for research in community psychology (CP). We sought to increase theoretical rigor by using a CR approach to interdisciplinarity. We put empowerment into conversation with Social Reproduction Theory and Black, Indigenous, People of Color feminisms, because both represent situated knowledge that address experiences with oppression and focus on dismantling systems of oppression. We illustrate how a CR approach shaped our understanding of empowerment, and in turn, provided an analysis that was (a) more nuanced and actionable, (b) more aligned with CP values and definitions of social justice, and (c) more likely to contribute to the field by developing an intersectional anticapitalist and feminist intervention into empowerment literature. This paper highlights how, aligned with an interdisciplinary CR approach, we questioned assumptions about empowerment theory, which influenced our empirical work so that we could provide a more focused critique of unjust social arrangements, and with it, the possibility to act upon those arrangements.
This systematic review examined the role of Service-Learning experiences promoted by higher education institutions to strengthen the achievement of social justice outcomes among youth. We screened and coded studies following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Of the 555 articles found in the database search, 47 peer-reviewed studies were included in the final sample. Social justice construct, together with research location , participants, target community and outcomes, were coded. Results show effects of Service-Learning experiences on (a) fostering significant improvement of students' social justice beliefs, (b) stimulating significant changes in students' attitudes with respect to the development of altruistic behaviours and their commitment to social justice, and (c) increasing students' critical understanding by sparking questioning processes related to personal assumptions of inequalities. This systematic review provides insights into the strengths and challenges of implementing social justice-oriented Service-Learning experiences.
In 2019, three Black social work instructors simultaneously taught a required anti-oppressive practice (AOP) course to a cohort of undergraduate social work students. Through collective autoethnography (CAE), we sought to deepen our understanding of our experience within the classroom and how our identity as Black women was negotiated within the space. We used personal narrative essays and data from three autoethnographic conversations as the basis of our analysis. Three overarching themes emerged from the data and are discussed throughout the article: vulnerability and precarity, disembodiment from Black identity, and neutrality and objectivity. This study has special implications for Black female social work instructors teaching AOP. Its findings are relevant in determining how to dismantle anti-Black racism in social work education and practice.
Beliefs and attitudes are essential in mental health discourse. However, cultural beliefs and attitudes towards mental health problems (ATMHPs) among the Berom people of Nigeria are under-researched. The present studies made original contributions using the Cultural Identity Model (CIM) as predictors to investigate ATMHPs, and semi-structured interviews to further explain the potential impact of cultural beliefs on MHPs. In study-1, N = 140 participants responded to questionnaires on ATMHPs and were analysed using multivariate multiple regression in RStudio. Study-2 interviewed N = 13 participants (n = 7 laypeople; n = 6 practitioners). Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. Study-1 findings showed CIM as a non-significant predictor of ATMHPs. However, in study-2, four themes emerged: Cultural beliefs that MHPs are caused by spiritual forces; Berom indigenous preference for traditional healing; Christian religious healing in Berom communities; and Western-trained mental health practitioners' perception of lay service-users. The authors concluded that the Berom traditional and Christian religious healings are beneficial.
Community psychology has long valued reflexive praxis as a critical part advancing our research and action. In this Virtual Special Issue (VSI), we, a group of community psychologists and gender-based violence (GBV) researchers at many different points in our careers, reflected on GBV publications that have appeared in AJCP. We examine the ways in which community psychology broadly and articles in AJCP more specifically have conceptualized GBV as a sociocultural issue, how GBV intersects with other oppressions and forms of violence, the tension when systems that aspire to support survivors are inequitable and focused on ameliorative change, and the importance of interventions being locally informed and locally driven. By highlighting selected GBV-focused articles published in AJCP, this VSI discusses (a) understanding and transforming culture via robust research and local partnerships, (b) targeting effective interventions for survivors, (c) invoking systems and targeting change in institutional environments, and (d) making connections between local efforts and broader social movements. To continue to move forward, we conclude we must reflect, embrace methodological plurality, partner, and push for structural change. Reflective questions regarding research and action are offered, to address gender-based violence.
Over the last few decades, research has repeatedly shown that the education strategies used to develop the disaster risk reduction (DRR) capabilities and relationships required to reduce the risk of extreme natural events and facilitate the development of adaptive capacities have been ineffective. We propose that the ineffectiveness of current DRR education efforts derives from being based on the totalitarian, mechanistic, positivistic, rational and capitalistic worldview prevailing in Western cultures to maintain its power. We suggest that adopting the Indigenous metaphysical, nature-based, unified and egalitarian worldview can represent a more appropriate foundation for developing effective DRR education and the social-ecological relationships required to facilitate the development of sustainable DRR beliefs and practices based on the principle of people living in harmony/balance with nature, themselves and others.
Critical consciousness has received growing attention in developmental science, but most of the work has been conducted in Western liberal democracies. A critical examination is needed to determine whether critical consciousness can be appropriately measured in less democratic societies, where opportunity structures are different from those in Western liberal democracies. To establish the psychopolitical validity of a measure of critical reflection in less democratic societies, this study developed the Critical Reflection Scale (CRS) based on a sample of 3,015 youths in China. The results support a two-factor model of critical reflection, including (1) recognition of social inequity and (2) awareness of everyday oppression. The findings reveal varying levels of critical reflection across age, gender, and sexual orientation. Two items of the CRS function differently between young women and men. The CRS demonstrates good internal consistency and convergent validity, indicating that it is a psychometrically sound measure of critical reflection.
Domestic work is a sector characterized by various forms of injustice, prompting some women to embark on a pathway towards activism. Based on the Sociopolitical Development (SPD) framework, this study aims to explore female Latin American migrants' experiences of injustice in the domestic work sector in Spain and how they challenge them, particularly when they become involved in organized collective action. To this end, in‐depth interviews were conducted with 11 women of Latin American origin who actively participate in the Association of Domestic Workers of Seville. The qualitative analysis found that being a domestic worker, having experiences of exploitation, discovering rights, receiving rights training, sharing stories of oppression, and engaging in sociopolitical actions are key experiences in guiding migrant women from the acritical and adaptive stages of SPD towards the pre‐critical, critical, and liberation ones. Knowledge about these significant life‐changing events may be useful for designing interventions aimed at fostering different ways in which oppressed groups can challenge injustice.
This chapter offers reflections on an innovative placement undertaken in Malawi as part of our UK Doctoral Training. This placement had a profound effect on our learning and development in both a professional and a personal capacity and has challenged our accepted ways of working. Within this chapter, we reflect on the strong sense of community and motivation within the Malawian culture to support one another and explore the ways in which ‘umoza’ may be integrated within services that are set up to support vulnerable citizens. We consider cultural influences on the ways in which we conceptualise mental health and how families and communities form part of these conceptualisations. We draw upon the values of community psychology to consider issues related to social justice around the experience of distress and provision of mental health services. We consider the learning that can be taken from a non-Western mental health service to shape creativity, flexibility and use of the arts to support community-based interventions. We offer ideas on how this may be achieved in the social, political and cultural context within which we work.
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