Week 12 - Community Psychology, Social Justice & Intersectionality
What is Community Psychology?
Community psychology focuses on understanding people within the social, cultural, economic and environmental contexts.
Core Values
Ecological perspective
People are best understood within multiple systems in which they operate
Empowerment
Encourages participation, voice and agency for the people affected by the changes
Nothing about us without us
Social justice
Correct injustices of the past
Challenges systems of oppression and inequality by promoting fairness and equity
Prevention and promotion
Utilises strength of the community to prevent problems before they arise
Collaboration and community strengths
Works with communities, not on them
Assets, knowledge, and resilience within communities
Respect for diversity
Encourages culturally, responsive and inclusive practices
Sense of community
Emphasises belonging, support, and shared emotional connections
Citizen participation
Encourages democratic involvement in decision-making
Supports grassroots engagement
Research methods in Community Psychology:
Community = Belonging
Belonging refers to the emotional experience of being accepted, valued and connected within a group or community.
Elements of a Psychological Sense of Community (PSC)
Membership
Influence
Integration and fulfilment of needs
Shared emotional connections
Belonging as a protective factor
Belonging is linked to:
Reduced stress, anxiety and depression
Higher self-esteem, and life satisfaction
Greater resilience and coping capacity
Barriers to a community based approach
Medical model dominance favours a more individual focus of treatment
Government funding and policy of the neglect community programs that don't fit within the electoral cycle
Institutional inertia creates resistance to re-training professionals, and restructuring models of care
Individualist societies emphasise individual responsibility and minimise the effects of social pressures.
A lack of cultural competence
Fragmentation of services