Community and Health Psychology

1310 Words6 Pages
Page 1 Introduction Community psychology and public health approaches are each different constituents and deals with different social problems. I will compare both of them and discuss each of its characteristics. Community Psychology Community psychology is tied up with mental health reform movements in the USA. The care of mental health is characterised by infrequent reforms and followed by long periods of virtual neglect. There are three important reform movements, namely; moral treatment in the early 100’s, mental hygiene during the 1900’s and the deinstitutionalisation in the 1960’s. Each movement led to establish specific types of institutions; therapeutic mental hospitals in the moral treatment era, child guidance clinics in the mental health era, and community health centre in the deinstitutionalised era. Each movement also represents a further move towards treating mental health illness as a social rather than an individual problem and furthermore there was also a move towards prevention rather than cure. None of the movements were predominantly effective at a practical level. Community psychology also struggled to define itself as a separate entity. It does not only concern them with mental health but also social behaviours more importantly. The understanding of mental health and illnesses depicts social phenomenons which were poverty and exploitation. Community psychology promises more social accountability to practice. A few examples of these initiatives have been wedged in a restorative mode. There are weaknesses in community psychology due to it not being developed and on the same level with the professional aspects of clinical, counselling, educational and research psychology. Community psychology is looked upon as a solution to lighten the progressive psychological forms dueto political disturbances. It continues to progress in South
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