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Community Psychology lies at the intersection of social psychology, political science, and community development. It is an approach to mental health that uses an analysis of social processes and interactions to design social interventions amongst groups and communities to improve psychological wellbeing. There is substantial evidence for the social causes of illness and many of these can be remediated by improved community cohesion.

The basic tenets of community psychology are:

1. Any non-biological mental illness, and many biologically caused illnesses, can either be caused by or aggravated by a mismatch between a person's personality, attitudes and valuesetc and the community environment in which he or she exists.
2. It is often cheaper and more effective to change the environment than to treat multiple patients within it.
3. Primary interventions (those aimed at preventing problems before they start) are much more effective than secondary or tertiary interventions (those that treat patients or incipient patients).

Community Psychology is division 27 of the American Psychological Association, represented by the Society for Community Research & Action (SCRA). Their official description is as follows:

The Division of Community Psychology encourages the development of theory, research, and practice relevant to the reciprocal relationships between individuals and the social system which constitute the community context. The Division supports 23 regional groups promoting communication among community psychologists in six U.S. regions, Canada, Western Europe, and the South Pacific. The Division hosts a three day biennial conference and has formed interest groups in the areas of international community psychology, rural psychology, aging, applied settings, and children and youth (prevention issues). Members receive the bimonthly American Journal of Community Psychology and The Community Psychologist, published five times per year.

Community Psychology found a proposed "conceptual center" in the idea of Psychological Sense of Community (or simply Sense of Community), introduced in 1974 by Seymour Sarason. In 1986 a major step was taken by theoretician David McMillan and operationalizer David Chavis with the publication of their Theory of Sense of Community and Sense of Community Index. Originally designed primarily in reference to neighborhoods, the Sense of Community Index (SCI) can be adapted to study other communities as well, including the workplace, schools, religious communities, communities of interest, etc.

Contents 1 Peer-reviewed journals 2 See also 3 Bibliography 3.1 Key texts – Books 3.2 Additional material – Books 3.3 Key texts – Papers 4 External links

[edit] Peer-reviewed journals

• American Journal of Community Psychology
• Community Mental Health Journal
• Others
• Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology
• Journal of Community Psychology

[edit] See also

• Community mental health
• Community mental health services
• Community psychiatry
• Mental health programs
• Public health

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Key texts – Books

• Duffy, K. G., & Wong, F. Y. (1996). Community psychology. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
• Heller, K., Price, R., Reinharz, S., Riger, S., & Wandersman, A. (1984). Psychology and community change (2nd ed.). Homewood, IL: Dorsey Press.
• Levine, M. & Perkins, D. V. (1997). Principles of community psychology: Perspectives and applications (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford Univiversity Press.
• Orford, J. (1992). Community psychology: Theory and practice. New York: Wiley.
• Rappaport, J. (1977). Community psychology: Values, research, and action. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.
• Sarason, S.B. (1974). The psychological sense of community: Prospects for a community psychology. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

[edit] Additional material – Books

[edit] Key texts – Papers

• Chavis, D.M., & Wandersman, A. (1990). Sense of community in the urban environment: A catalyst for participation and community development. American Journal of Community Psychology, 18(1), 55-81.
• McMillan, D.W., & Chavis, D.M. (1986). Sense of community: A definition and theory. American Journal of Community Psychology, 14(1), 6-23.

[edit] External links

• The Society for Community Research and Action - Division 27 of APA.
• See Community Psychology: In Pursuit of Well-Being and Liberation edited by Nelson and Prilleltensky (in press, New York: Palgrave Macmillan) for further definitions and fields of work.

• Psychology Resources includes information about Community Psychology and related topics.

• Commiunity psychology net

• http://www.compsy.org.uk[1] is a British based site that takes the following orientation to Community Psychology:- Community Psychology is orientated to the community rather than the individual as the basic unit of analysis and intervention4. (It is not just the practice of individual applied psychology in community contexts. For this reason we sometimes call our orientation Community Social Psychology, the term used widely in Latin America). Our orientation is broadly radical, underpinned by values of social justice, liberation, empowerment and inclusion of people marginalised by the existing order. However we also emphasise conceptual and methodological rigour, in the practice and the theory of community psychology - as research and as collaboration with diverse communities.

This page uses content from the English-language version of Wikipedia. The original article was at Community psychology. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Psychology Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.