Community Psychology Perspectives and Applications

by Levine, Murray; Perkins, David V.

• ISBN13: 9780195039467
• ISBN10: 0195039467
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1987-04-30
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This text provides a coherent and balanced presentation of the principles and practices of community psychology. Opening chapters analyze the conceptual roots of community psychology in epidemiology, the medical model of mental health, and social ecology, while later chapters focus on practical applications in preventive mental health and social and community change. Unusual but increasingly important topics are also addressed, such as self-help, consciousness raising, labelling theory, school desegregation, and the role of behavioral scientists in social change. The authors subject basic concepts to critical analysis and provide up-to-date reviews of empirical research throughout.

Table of Contents

Introduction: An Overview of Community Psychology

Life Is a Soap Opera

The Social and Historical Context of Community Psychology

The Ecological Analogy

Three Psychological Conceptions of the Environment

Labelling Theory: An Alternative to the Illness Model, and Its Limitations

Adaptation, Crisis, Coping and Support

Prevention in Mental Health

Self-Help Groups

Consciousness-Raising as Self-Help

The Problem of Change

School Desegregation: A Societal-Level Intervention

Social Action in Community Psychology: Science, Politics, and the Ethics of Community Intervention

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