Advanced training in community psychology: The role of training in community systems

Abstract

As the field of community psychology begins to take root and to flourish, increasing demands are being made from all quarters to develop training programs for the new converts as well as hopeful students who wish to enter and practice in this special field. A few sources of guidance are beginning to emerge, the most notable of which are Iscoe and Spielberger's book on Perspectives in Training and Research in Community Psychology, and the American Psychological Association's Division 27 (Community Psychology) revised booklet on Training Opportunities in Community Psychology and Community Mental Health, but, in general, viable training programs in the university or in the community are still in the experimental (often groping) stage. Problems arise between competing ideologies of psychology training at the university, between theories formulated on the campus and practices underway in community settings, and between more conservative social engineering roles and more militant social advocacy roles in the cities and towns where community psychology techniques are practiced. This paper will address itself to community psychology training in community settings, focusing upon goals, appropriate training locations in the community, and methods of supervision. GOALS OF TRAININGThe goals of training logically rest upon the derived definitions of the term "community psychology." The first published * Dr. Rosenblum is associated with the Massachusetts

Training for Primary Prevention in Mental Health

“…Although pieces of such a base already exist, they are not necessarily found in the pigeonholes that mental health professionals best know and typically seek out. Rather, they are scattered across domains at least as diverse as education, sociology, family relations epidemiologY, urban planning, political science, public health, architecture, and environmental engineering (Rosenblum, 1973;Price, 1983). Most of the existing generative base has developed sui generis, i.e., for other purposes and in other contexts, rather than as part of a planful effort to set the stage for "executive" primary prevention programming in mental health.…”

Building consultative relationships with rural fundamentalist clergy.

“…Not a single article on this subject appears in the past issues of Community Mental Health Journal. Further, university-based psychology graduate programs have not provided adequate training in community consultation skills (Rosenblum, 1973). Those students who do manage to obtain such training usually do so in an urban-based setting receptive to such outside intervention (e.g., Balch & McWilliams, 1975;Silverman & Fourcher, 1975).…”

Perspectives of clinical students on training in community mental health and community psychology

“…This attention has taken the form of conceptual commentaries and critiques (Kalis, 1973;Powell & Riley, 1970;Rosenblum, 1973), as well as surveys on the status of 1 Thanks are extended to the graduate students and training directors who have participated in this survey. Significant findings included: (a) 66% consider training in CP/CMH as very helpful to their career goals, (b) 54% are very much interested in postdoctoral training in CP/CMH, and (c) 62% consider the training in CP/CMH available in their graduate programs below adequate.…”

“…This attention has taken the form of conceptual commentaries and critiques (Kalis, 1973;Powell & Riley, 1970;Rosenblum, 1973), as well as surveys on the status of 1 Thanks are extended to the graduate students and training directors who have participated in this survey. This attention has taken the form of conceptual commentaries and critiques (Kalis, 1973;Powell & Riley, 1970;Rosenblum, 1973), as well as surveys on the status of 1 Thanks are extended to the graduate students and training directors who have participated in this survey.…”

“…For the 30 topics, reported adequacy of coverage ranged from 40% to 67%; the percentage of respondents who considered coverage inadequate ranged from 18% to 56%.As the general framework of community psychology has developed, increasing attention has been given to identifying the basic elements of effective training programs in community psychology and community mental health. This attention has taken the form of conceptual commentaries and critiques (Kalis, 1973;Powell & Riley, 1970;Rosenblum, 1973), as well as surveys on the status of 1 Thanks are extended to the graduate students and training directors who have participated in this survey. Acknowledgment and thanks for critically evaluating the preliminary survey forms and recommending modifications are extended to Part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.…”