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Community Psychology Newsletter Community Psychology Newsletter November 2015 DR. TIM AUBRY, DR. BRUCE TEFFT , AND DR. GEOFF NELSON IN THIS ISSUE Reflections on Community Psychology by Dr. Bruce Tefft “In the last analysis, politics is not community psychology but society as a predictions and politics is not whole. observations. Politics is what we do, what we create, what we work for, what we Overall, I am more excited and hope for, and what we dare to imagine.” optimistic about the future of Paul Wellstone (University community psychology in Canada than I An interview with Dr. Geoff Nelson professor and former US have ever been. For decades community “Community psychology is a value- Senator) psychology has remained true to its based field, and its values are congruent founding values, beliefs, and objectives, with my personal values of social such as social and economic justice. On the occasion of my impending inclusion, social justice, power-sharing, However, until relatively recently, it retirement after 40 years as a university- and collaboration. I feel very fortunate seemed that as community based teacher, researcher, and that I have a job, where my work lines up psychologists we were beating our practitioner of community psychology in with my values.” Page 3 Canada, I have the privilege of being collective heads against a very hard brick given the opportunity to reflect on the wall when it came to convincing policy An interview with Rebecca Cherner changes I have observed in the field over makers that there was indeed a better “From my mentors, I have learned the that period of time, as well as the future way to expend public resources and help importance of engaging with people prospects for community psychology. disadvantaged groups of people than outside the university to collaborate on Such reflection is inherently risky, as I one-on-one interventions rooted in a research and evaluation, as well as am still very much immersed in the field deficit model. I confess to growing working to bring research findings to and have not yet gained the perspective impatient with having to make the same people and organizations who can apply that comes with greater time and arguments, and present the same them to policy.” Page 4 distance. Therefore, I offer my (modestly updated) evidence year after observations without any claim to great year, with little or no discernible impact. How much is too much? insight, but rather simply as a personal I now realize that, to a large extent, my Inspections Data Provide a Window onto perspective borne of having witnessed impatience with the slow rate of Residential Clutter as a Housing Problem first-hand the evolution of not only progress was likely a function of the… Page 5 inevitable discrepancy between government that individual (short) and societal (long) spans six separate time frames. Society is inherently ministries and is conservative, which may not always be a mandated to develop bad thing given the nature of many ill- and implement ECD formed ideas for change promoted by throughout the different interest groups. Looking back, province. Its scientific some very good ideas promoted by director (Dr. Rob community psychology for years have Santos) is a talented, incubated and appear now to be gaining mid-career considerable traction among policy community makers specifically and large segments psychologist who has of society in general. For reasons of become a leading space I will briefly discuss only two such authority in Canada. ideas, both of which were merely pipe Tellingly, the budget dreams when I entered the field of of HCM was recently community psychology. increased at the same time that other provincial government Early Childhood Development budgets were being reduced. Over the past 20 years, there has been This institutionalization of an avalanche of evidence that roughly ECD efforts in Manitoba was the first five years of life are absolutely unthinkable even 20 years critical to the long-term health and ago. success of children. It is now scientifically irrefutable that children are multi-determined. Similarly, we now who are provided with adequate Prevention of Mental Disorder realize that major environmental resources early in life (e.g., loving When I was a graduate student, the late conditions such as poverty and social parents, good nutrition, a stimulating Dr. George Albee had already organized isolation are causal for many different environment) tend strongly to fall into a the annual Vermont Conference on mental disorders, a phenomenon known positive trajectory that is highly likely to Primary Prevention and was vigorously as multi-finality. This conceptual continue into adulthood. Conversely, promoting primary prevention as the breakthrough allowed community children who are not fortunate in this only rational response to new psychologists to entertain a wide range way tend strongly to fall into a negative epidemiological surveys showing that of universal and indicated prevention trajectory that, if left unchecked, is also traditional psychotherapy could never programs directed not at specific highly likely to continue, at great cost to hope to meet even a small fraction of disorders but at widespread social the children (soon to be adults) in terms the need for mental health treatment conditions. Such programs have been of dysfunction and poor quality of life, among the general population. It was at shown repeatedly to be not only feasible and to society at large in terms of a the Vermont Conference that I first met but at least as effective, and in many whole range of expensive outcomes some of the pioneers of community cases, more effective than traditional (e.g., mental disorder, crime, poverty). psychology in Canada. Although in treatment. As a result, community The good news is that intervening early principle the concept of primary psychologists and others are involved in to correct a negative trajectory is prevention as a response to an epidemic exciting, cutting-edge prevention relatively easy and very cost-efficient. of mental disorder was compelling, at programs that are gaining broad public Moreover, the interventions that have that time there was insufficient evidence and professional acceptance. Thus, the proven so effective (e.g., assisting to persuade health officials and other debate has shifted from can we do it at parents, providing stimulating books policy makers that primary prevention all to which alternatives would be most and toys) are predominantly low-tech was an effective way to spend public appropriate in this particular and straightforward. In the past 10-15 resources. In addition, adherents of the circumstance. years, governments which are medical model of mental disorder responsible for dealing with the negative (including many psychologists) argued Thank you again for the opportunity to consequences of failing to intervene that primary prevention of any given share these reflections with my early have finally begun listening to mental disorder (e.g., depression) would colleagues. community psychologists (and others) have to wait until scientists discovered and are implementing early childhood the precise cause of it. Of course, from a development (ECD) programs on a large body of subsequent research we Bruce M. Tefft, Ph.D., C. Psych. meaningful scale. A leading example of now realize that the vast majority of Associate Professor of Psychology this trend is Healthy Child Manitoba mental disorders do not have precise (HCM), an arm of the provincial causes, but rather that mental disorders An interview with Dr. Geoff Nelson Are you involved in any Community Which university/organization(s) do Psychology interventions/programs you presently work for? happening elsewhere in Canada? In 1979, I started as an Assistant I have been working within Waterloo Professor at Wilfrid Laurier University in region to enhance the Housing First what was then called the Social- approach here, by bringing in rent Community Psychology program (now supplements and by collaborating on an it’s just Community Psychology). It was a evaluation of the impacts of these great opportunity, as I wanted to be a supplements. faculty member in a Community I’ve also been working with a Psychology program. The Laurier program was relatively new, having community in North Waterloo that has just formally started in 1976, so I was “in on started a new Better the ground floor”, so to speak, and was able to play a role in shaping the Beginnings program for program and helping it to grow. children ages 4-8. Better Beginnings is a community- How do you see Community driven, ecological approach Psychology relating to your work? to primary prevention that has been found to have Community Psychology is my home positive impacts on children field. I had an undergraduate course in when they reach 19 years of Community Psychology at the age, as well as their parents, collaboration. I feel very fortunate that I University of Illinois with Julian and communities. I consult with the have a job, where my work lines up with Rappaport, one of the founders of the project and work with a research team my values. Not many people enjoy that field. That course and the practicum to evaluate this new program. privilege. Community Psychology is also courses that I took with it at Illinois evidence-based and is open to a broad What was one big decision you had to spurred me to pursue graduate work in range of methodological approaches, make to get where you are today? Clinical-Community Psychology at the spanning quantitative, qualitative and University of Manitoba. Since joining the Late in graduate school, I decided I mixed methods, often used in the Laurier program, all of my work has wanted an academic job and that I context of program evaluation, which been based in the field of Community has been the focus of much of my Psychology.
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