What Are Community Psychologists?
Community psychologists study the connection between society and the mental health of the individual. They are concerned with how social systems and practices affect people, exploring external forces and the type of influence that they have on the well-being of the individuals who live with those forces. Community psychology is a relatively new area in the field of psychology.
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Influence of Environment
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Community psychologists do not limit their analysis of an individual patient to that patient. Instead, they view the individual's place in their environment and how well they fit into that environment. This can be managed through a broad view of an entire community, but it can also be more precise, incorporating the individual's workplace or school or some other relevant organization. They develop a view of an individual or individuals in a larger, influential context.
Clients
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Community psychologists work with individuals, groups of individuals and various social institutions that can influence people. They not only speak with individuals experiencing difficulty, but they help organizations manage mental health issues from a policy standpoint. They help those organizations devise policies and alter structures in a way that is tailored to improved mental health for their community members. This could mean working with a private workplace with a high-stress environment that leads to certain mental health issues with employees, or it could mean working with a school's administration to address bullying problems and their effects.
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Preventive Policies
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Community psychologists are geared toward preventive practices that are designed to treat potential problems before they emerge, according to Douglas Perkins, the founding director of the Center for Community Studies at Vanderbilt University. This preventive focus means that community psychologists sometimes advocate broad social change -- including sometimes pushing for government regulatory and policy changes -- and it means that their work shares parallels with the work that social workers do.
Research Focus
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Research is a central facet of the community psychologist's work. In particular, community psychologists do research into particular social problems and test for ways to solve them. They often base their research on groups of people that have common problems, working to identify the causes of the problems and the possible solutions that can be created through societal changes. A common thread in community psychologists' research is its real-world relevance and focus on the effects of the outer world on individuals' inner selves.
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