- Thokozire Phiri
Discuss with relevant good examples the value of community participation in community psychology.
- Introduction
"Rather than just reacting to a difficulty or issue and finding means with which to treat it, the ideal approach would be to identify ways to reduce or prevent the problem from ever taking place" Erika Sanborne (2002)
Definition of Community Psychology
Community Psychology is a fresh discipline that can be involved with the relationship of individuals with areas and societies which integrates research and action to comprehend and enhance quality of life for Individuals, Neighborhoods and Societies (Kloos, B. et al 2012:14-16). The increasing need for this discipline stems from the limitations presented by other related disciplines such as Clinical Mindset that placed focus on the mental health of the individual and handles the average person mental and communal problems. As opposed to this approach, Community Psychology centers not only on the individual person, their competence and potential, but rather on the wider framework of these lives (source). (source). . . . . state governments that community mindset perspective is constructional rather than pathological in orientation, by this the psychologist supposed that concentration is on root factors behind the mental problems other than the consequences. This shift centers on two fundamental assumptions; how do problems arise? How can change happen? (Kloos, B. et al (2012:15). This assumption further conceptualizes the value of folks and contexts; context is defined as the sum environment within which an individual lives. This understanding underpins on the fact that no man can be an island, by this the understanding is an individual relates with his or her community at multiple levels such as the family, network of friends, work area, school, voluntary organizations, area and wider area which includes culture, gender, beliefs and norms that the city ascribes to. As such awareness should be placed on understanding the hyperlink between mental health problems that may arise because of this connections and environmental factors which may contribute to the challenge. (source) exemplified this and stated that each may bring principles to the workgroup which could change the thinking about the workgroup or may be influenced or afflicted by group norms and principles. Therefore the total impact that the surroundings has on the individual is what defines the purpose for the lifetime of community psychology. By classification community mindset centres on focusing on how the environment that can be also be termed a encircling or geographic location of an individual (source) or the cultural and psychological relations of owed and personal information (source) as described by Community Psychologists has relevance in community mindset.
This description of the community as interpersonal and psychological relationships of belonging; entails not only the impact that this environment is wearing the average person but also how a person might influence it. Connect this to ecological explanation in community psychology.
(source) areas that Community Psychologists understand the profound rooted cultural and mental health problems, the structural pushes that form the lives of the average person, the energy dynamics in specific romantic relationships, organisations and areas, the multiple associations of individuals and how it affects him or her and works to market individual growth and stop social and mental health problems before they occur. At the centre of Community Psychologists is the individuals themselves; therefore individuals participation or community participation is paramount to community psychology. The preceding paragraph will specify community participation and how it pertains to community mindset.
Defining Community Participation
Community participation means getting involved in an effort without really being its instigator or innovator (source). It also means the process by which people take a dynamic and influential hand in shaping decisions that impact their lives.
Relationship with community psychology
The romance between community mindset and community participation is two pronged. First of all the city psychologist uses the city as its unit of examination or the amount of analysis, hence the two cannot be segregated. As already detailed above; community psychology is rooted in the understanding of the relationship between individual and areas and societies; which means that the work of your Community Psychologist relies on the community itself; in other schools of thought community mindset is described as community work (Source); community mindset interventions are aptly located locally; in non-clinical options (source);
As mentioned by (source) community Psychologist target at identifying methods to reduce or prevent problem from ever before occurring; at the same time growing the wellbeing of individuals locally and their standard of living. With the epicenter of defining problems and devising alternatives is people themselves; or as it can be termed otherwise the city itself. This therefore calls for the active engagement of the visitors to take demand of the problem and influence change.
Importance of community contribution in community psychology
One of the major concepts of community mindset is citizen participation, citizen participation as defined by (source) is the
Apart from citizen participation, community contribution is also important in community psychology because it promotes utilization of indigenous knowledge. It really is stated that community associates are the true experts of their own situation; it is absurd to think otherwise. Community psychology request are aptly put locally in non-clinical settings (Snaborne, E. 2012:2) because of its nature of focus on the city; the participation of the community is key as it attracts experience and skills from within.
The use of community knowledge contributes to the formulation of interventions that are responsive in character; interventions that concentrate on the prevention approach which is ideal in community psychology.
Community participation also contributes to power posting which is one of the concepts of community mindset. Power sharing can only just be achieved by getting the community involved and removing the 'us and them' syndrome. Eliminating the status differential between experts and those offered by experts can only just happen when the city is included.
In genuinely realizing the community participants as true experts of these situation, the city intervention that consequence depends on needs identified by community users themselves, set up by their participation and contribution, evaluated by their notion of change and so financing the interventions community owned or operated and lasting.
Social justice
Development experts like community psychologists now notice that citizen participation can be an entitlement or a right. A right is a privilege, privilege is a particular advantage, an immunity, a agreement to benefit which is awarded to individual to be enjoyed. This approach is enshrined in the most development procedures. Therefore granting such privilege through participation allows residents to use this indelible social resource to maximum use. It is also stressed that community psychologist help areas cope with negative situations, therefore allowing them use this privilege; the social resource bestowed after them naturally allows them deal with stressors which could otherwise contribute to much negative situation if not well tackled. Community participation therefore is important in community psychology as it allows experts spend money on areas through resources that are plentiful. Community involvement is also important in community mindset for it causes more equitable circulation of resources;
Community participation in addition has an inference for boosting sense of community. Sense of community is enhanced through creation of voluntary groupings and association in seeking of collective action. Sense of community includes such qualities as membership, distributed emotional connection, fulfillment of needs and sense of belonging (source). These qualities which may be derived from involvement are improved whenever communities feel that their needs are satisfied, when they derive satisfaction from influencing change, when they experience mental mounted on fellow customers of the city which heightens sense of belonging and satisfaction. Community psychology has an objective of mobilizing individuals, neighborhoods and societies towards collectively determining their problems, devising answers to such problems and working alongside one another to boost their wellbeing. Community participation in cases like this is a means to attaining sense of community which ultimately contributes to prevention of community difficulties or problems that may impede on the attainment of well-being of neighborhoods. Hence, it is undebatable that involvement by users of the community is important in community psychology as creates a feeling of community.
Empowerment
Empowerment refers to the ability of men and women to get understanding and take control over personal, sociable, economic, political pushes in order to do this to improve their life situation. (Kasmel, A. 2012). It really is a process by which individuals and communities are enabled to consider power and work effectively in increasing greater control, efficiency, and interpersonal justice in changing their environment. The probability of empowerment will depend on two things, one which requires power to change and extend.
Principle of empowerment regarding to Rappaport (1981) as quoted by Kasmel stresses that all folks have existing strength and functions as well as the capability to be more experienced. The failure of an person to display competence is not due to deficit within the person but instead the failing of social systems to provide or create opportunities for competence to be displayed or received. Furthermore to the the Psychologist areas that new competences are best discovered through experiences that lead people to make self-attributions about their capacities to impact important life happenings. Participation is one of the occurrences that enable visitors to discover themselves. Therefore involvement leads to empowerment.
