by Helen Whitlow, The University of Masschusetts Lowell

Image Credit: http://www.craniofacial.vcu.edu/conditions/chiari.html

Everyone remembers the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge right? That social media craze where millions of people spread awareness of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) by uploading challenge videos, including nominations for others to take part. This promoted fundraising to find a cure for ALS, and influenced individuals to actually educate themselves. A lot of people didn’t know what ALS was, until the ice bucket challenge emerged. There are a lot of diseases, illnesses, epidemics, physical, intellectual, and developmental disabilities, where awareness has reached almost every part of the world. Sometimes I wonder if communities know of other illnesses, whether it’s from the news or social media. Have you ever heard of Chiari Malformation?

Chiari Malformation (CM) is a structural defect of the brain and spinal cord, where the cerebellum is in a downward placement at the back of the skull. Normally, the spinal cord should be the only thing passing through. This causes a lot of headaches, neck pains, dizziness, fatigue, and much more major symptoms. In 2009, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Chiari Malformation. For a few years, it was a slight secret, where only my immediate family knew. When I attempted to explain to others that I have CM, I was given the same puzzled response, “you have what now?!” I eventually gave up on informing people. As the reader, I don’t want you to pity, but I want you to understand how you can educate yourself and get involved in public awareness. Unfortunately, there are some fundraising and walks to find a cure for CM, but doesn’t produce the same effect as the ALS Ice Bucket challenge. By educating the reader about how community psychology provides resources on CM, encourages individuals like myself to shine a light on this invisible disease. Taking from the Competencies for Community Psychology Practice, I can address this issue, and hope that social change can arise from my need to advocate.

The eighteen competencies for community psychology help give individuals skills and knowledge on addressing social issues, and aid in the promotion of change. By focusing on the “Community and Social Change” category, the competencies within create more meaning in the education of CM. Collaborating and coalition development with individuals diagnosed with CM, can help educate those in surrounding communities. There are families who are heavily affected, and can use their life experiences to aid community psychologists, in the creation of educational resources. Community psychologists can work with others to improve awareness within the competency of information dissemination and public awareness building. Psychologists can establish more fundraisers and health clinics, providing accessible information to all individuals. They can utilize the ecological perspective competency, and use their work in context, and help individuals affected to increase social change (Scott & Wolfe, 2015, p. 44). Even more so, hoping to reach higher levels of awareness through social media, similar to the ALS Ice Bucket challenge.

My goal of this blogpost is to shed some light on this invisible diagnosis, and encourage readers to research. Well if that did, then I utilized public awareness building! Community psychology can help with creating walks, foundations, and websites, while helping pediatricians and neurologists to become more aware of CM. Chiari Malformation may be invisible, but for individuals like myself, it will always be there. At least until further treatment is needed.

Now that you have learned a bit about Chiari Malformation, and want to learn even more, provided below is a link to the “Conquer Chiari” webpage. Create awareness, and be part of the change. http://www.conquerchiari.org/index.html

#commpsych #chiarimalformation  #chiarimalformationawareness  #arnoldchiari

Helena Whitlow is a graduate student in Autism Studies Program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

References

Scott, V., Wolfe,S. (2015). Community Psychology: Foundations for practice. California:         Sage Publications Inc.

by Selin Tekin, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Image Credit: http://www.rccmsc.org/community-outreach/awareness.aspx

Sexual assault and rape are two of the vital issues on college campuses and many of them are unreported.It is reported that the annual rate of completed rapes is about 35 in every 1,000 female students. That means with 10,000 female students, as many as 350 rapes may occur during the academic year (Boche & Dincesen, 2014).There are many explanations to emphasize why those two issuesdestroy the sufferers’ dignity. However, telling what makes these problems is very hard, yet crucial. In essence, they are out of individuals’ control, undesired, and they result in the devastation of self-esteem (UK Center For Research On VAW, 2011).

To prevent the assault, the first step is to understand the issue.

 What is Sexual Assault?

Sexual violence takes many forms. Domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, even sexist jokes or harassment are all considered to be sexual violence.Sexual assault and rape are sometimes used as interchangeable terms for forced sex and they are also defined as sexual violence (Boche & Dincesen, 2014).

According to U.S. Justice department and the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN):

Sexual Assault: “Unwelcome sexual contact that stops short of rape or attempted rape.”

Rape:“Forced or nonconsensual sexual intercourse, including vaginal, anal or oral penetration. Penetration may be by a body part or an object.”

Ecological theories recognize that human behavior is shaped by factors at multiple levels, including peer and community environments. Sexual violence researchers and interventionists can capitalize on the successes in these fields by applying ecological prevention strategies to the existing multilevel concepts of sexual violence etiology (Casey & Lindhorst, 2009).

Components of Ecological Prevention

There are six components of its application in the sexual violence field. The first component is comprehensiveness. This component can be conceptualized as implementing change strategies at two or more levels simultaneously such as, educational presentations, media campaigns, and small-group psycho-educational programming. For example, violence against women prevention is being delivered in many of these ways on college campuses (Casey & Lindhorst, 2009).

The second component is community engagement. This component is centered on the participation of community members in the implementation of intervention strategies.It is defined as partnering with community members in the process of identifying targets for designing accompanying change strategies. In the state of Washington, for example, sexual assault programs that receive federal rape prevention and education funds are required to incorporate community engagement activities. Community engagement strategies included facility policy changes, staff education, and sexual violence educational programming for agency clients (Casey & Lindhorst, 2009).

The third component is contextualized programming. This component is defined as designing intervention strategies that are consistent with the broader social, economic and political context of communities.Contextualized prevention cannot occur without engaging community members to identify their beliefs about the contributors to and likely solutions for sexual violence. The prevention efforts created for communities, such as colleges, would allow greater adaptation to the concerns,and will eventually facilitate the engagement of trusted, credible community members as deliverers of interventions (Casey & Lindhorst,2009).

The fourth component is theory based.This component is not limited to the ecological models. The program designed by Heppner and colleagues (1999) is a method of intervention that combines social-psychological theory and attitude formation with theElaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), which aims to concentrate attention to the core message of the intervention. The ELM suggests that attention is increased by several factors: personal linkages with the intervention content, opportunities to evaluate the content, and motivation to get involved. The evaluation results indicate that rape supportive attitudes targeted with the program decreased through a 5-month follow-up assessment of the participants. Heppner and colleagues linked the expected attitude change with a theory, which offers a mechanism for that change. In so doing, they provided a testable, replicable intervention, which will be duplicated and tailored for other groups (as is cited in Casey & Lindhorst, 2009).

The fifth component is health and strengths promotion. This component consists of simultaneous efforts to enhance community resources and strengths together with addressing risk factors. Banyard and colleagues (2007) developed a bystander approach for sexual violence prevention. This program trains college students to recognize potentially problematic situations and intervene in sexually coercive interactions. After two months, the trained students reported decreasing rape-supportive attitudes and beliefs, and significant increases in positive bystander behavior when compared with the students in the control group (Banyard et al., 2007).

The sixth component is toaddress structural factors. This component is described as targeting structural and underlying causes of social problems for change rather than individual behavior or symptoms of larger problems. Addressing structural contributors to rape may work best when done in partnership with community members who can identify the underlying factors that support aggressive behavior is their specific environment (Casey & Lindhorst, 2009).

#commpsych

Selin Tekin is a graduate student in the Community Social Psychology department at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Reference

Banyard, V.L. (2014). Improving College Campus-Based Prevention of Violence Against Woman a Strategic Plan For research Built On Multipronged Practices and Policies. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 15(4), 339-351

Banyard, V. L., Moynihan, M. M., & Plante, E. G. (2007). Sexual violence prevention through bystander education: An experimental evaluation. Journal of Community Psychology, 35(4), 463-481.

Boche, R. & Dincesen, A. (2014). Sexual Assault [Required Prevention Education]. Retrieved from:  https://www.mystudentbody.com/Default.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fMembers%2fStudent%2fModuleSelection.aspx%3fcourseID%3d28&courseID=28

Cambell, R. (2008). The Psychological Impact of Rape victims. Amrican Psychologist, 63(8),702.

Casey, E. A., & Lindhorst, T. P. (2009). Toward a multi-level, ecological approach to the primary prevention of sexual assault prevention in peer and community contexts. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 10(2), 91-114.

RAINN. (2009). Retrieved from: https://rainn.org/get-information/types-of-sexual-assault/sexual-assault

UK Center For Research On Violence Against Women, (2011). Retrieved from: https://opsvaw.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/01_Needs_of_Rape_Survivors.pdf

By Aimee Coombs, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Image Credit: https://secure.surveymonkey.com/_resources/29396/38399396/00272643-0a80-481b-b61c-092d2a26a16a.jpg

An important competency, that is essential to supporting other competencies, is conducting community needs and resource assessments. A community needs and resources assessment is defined as, “a comprehensive analysis that examines the historical and existing context, conditions, assets, and capacity of the community to respond to a community issue (Scott & Wolfe,  2015)”.  This assessment helps to guide the actions, and decisions made on behalf of the community once the knowledge of the issues that need attention have been determined. Once the issues have been identified, all involved in determining resolutions that will benefit the community can come together and mobilize a plan that will benefit all in the community.

In regards to the community needs and resource assessment, I have listed four important considerations in conducting the assessment that I feel will help influence the manner in which assessments are done, and help to ensure positive outcomes.

1. Participatory evaluationwhich is defined, “as a collaborative process of systematic inquiry, actively engages stakeholders in all phases of the assessment, and has with the shared goal of utilizing information to support action in addressing an issue (Scott & Wolfe, 2015)”. Considering this perspective in the assessment process allows for all of those involved and affected by the issues being addressed to have a say in defining the issues and solutions that will bring about changes wanted within the community.
2. Prevention oriented approach looks at, “potential antecedents (i.e., precursors) that serve as risk or protective factors associated with behaviors of interest in the community are examined as part of the assessment (Scott & Wolfe, 2015)”. Utilizing this perspective helps to not only to consider the current state of issues but to also consider future probability of how the issues may stand in the future and what the needs and resources will be needed then.
3. Ecological perspective,“recognizes the interaction between individuals and the multiple social systems in which they are embedded (Scott & Wolfe, 2015)”. This perspective allows for the needs across several socio-ecological areas to be considered. Having this perspective allows for a broader view of the needs within the community to be integrated as part of a whole.
4. Action-focused assessment is the goal of the assessment to support a collaborative process that enables informed decision making for planning and taking action on issues that matter to the community (Scott & Wolfe, 2015). Taking this perspective encourages everyone that is involved utilizes the data gathered toward meaningful resolutions that will benefit all.

Using these skills and perspectives helps a community psychologist to ensure that when conducting the community needs and resource assessment that the best interest of the community is addressed and that all areas of the community are included as part of the whole. Community psychologists should strive to apply the ideas presented when doing the assessment to help guide the actions needed to be taken, and decisions needed to be made, for the communities they work with.

#commpsych

Aimee Coombs is a graduate student in Autism Studies program at University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Reference

Scott, V.  &  Wolfe, S.M.  (2015).  Community Psychology Foundations for Practice. United States of America: SAGE

By Emily Sullivan, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Image Credit: http://justenglish.me/2013/04/22/avoiding-cross-cultural-faux-pas/

I believe the Cross-cultural competence in Community Psychology is among the most important. It emphasizes the ability to work effectively with different groups of people. With a nearly infinite number of cultures, groups and communities that exist today, community psychologists are unable to reach a level of mastery within this competency(Scott & Wolfe, 2015, p.116). While this was a competency developed strictly for community psychology, I believe it would be beneficial to explore its application in different fields of psychology, such as Autism Studies. As a graduate student in the UMass Lowell Autism Studies program I can see real ties between this competence and the work I am doing as an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) practitioner in the Autism Studies field as well as in my education pursuits. There are three key components of the Cross-cultural competence, culture, social identities and privilege and power, which relate directly to Autism Studies(Scott & Wolfe, 2015, p.116).

Culture is made up of behaviors, beliefs and institutions (Scott & Wolfe, 2015, p.117). I believe that for this examination we can think of autism as a culture. It is a disorder characterized by a set of restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviors or interests sometimes accompanied by maladaptive or challenging behaviors. There are also commonly held beliefs, whether positive or negative, about people with autism. These beliefs differ significantly between those with autism and their families and those who remain unaffiliated. Finally there are institutions set in place to either help or hinder individuals with autism. The cross-cultural competence emphasizes that it is extremely important to think of a culture as more than just a label, because labels highlight differences between groups and limit within group diversity(Scott & Wolfe, 2015, p.117). I think this is an important idea to keep in mind in the field of Autism Studies. Labels are stigmatizing and create more distance between groups. I believe ABA practitioners and Autism Studies students alike should develop competence in this to bridge the gap between cultures (those individuals with autism and those without) and help create a more meaningful and lasting impact on individuals with autism.

The social identities component of the cross-cultural competence discusses self and social perceptions and how these are shaped by culture, history or context(Scott & Wolfe, 2015, p.118). I believe an understanding of this component is important in Autism Studies as well as in Community Psychology. It is important when working with or studying individuals with autism to understand self and social perceptions and how they influence their social identities. Disabilities such as autism tend to carry around stigmatizing labels. It is important to understand these social perceptions while keeping in mind how the individual or close family views the individual. This understanding will help ABA practitioners change negative perceptions and hopefully make self perceptions individuals with autism have create a larger impression on their social identity. Perhaps in this realm Community Psychologists could be recruited to help change negative perceptions along with cultural ones that shape the social identities of individuals with autism. I believe a collaboration could create some lasting and meaningful change.

In terms of the privilege and power component of the cross-cultural competence, I think it is easy to relate it to autism. Our country’s history is one that has devalued individuals with disabilities. Therefore, privilege and power has historically and in many cases today is still kept with neurotypical individuals within a community.Understanding this disparity is extremely important within the field of Autism studies, as advocating for these individuals with autism is a large part of what is necessary to be an ABA practitioner. Often times a lack of privilege and power leaves individuals with autism vulnerable for predatory behavior and exploitation. Through understanding this competency practitioners and Autism Studies students could take the necessary steps to ensure that this does not happen.

The cross-cultural competency is important within the field of Community Psychology, but could also be useful in other fields such as Autism Studies. The key components of this competency culture, social identity and privilege and power can clearly tie into Autism Studies and could help practitioners be more effective. Through examination of the cross-cultural competence in Autism Studies, I believe that it would be extremely useful to be used within this field. Based on many similarities between Autism Studies and Community Psychology, collaboration between the fields could have important positive effects on individuals with autism and some of the adversity they face.

#commpsych

Emily Sullivan is a graduate student in the Autism Studies program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

References

Scott, C. V, & Wolfe, M. S. (2015) Community Psychology Foundations For Practice. Thousand Oaks,

California: SAGE Publications, Inc.

By Jackie Marcoux

Image Credit:  http://www.springawakeningthemusical.com/wp content/uploads/2014/05/066-kqkrya3-783×1024.jpg

The world has been viewing theater for hundreds of years.  It started with the Greeks and the goal of teaching their communities life lessons.  As the art form grew the goals shifted.  Theater was a mode of entertainment; a place to go for a few hours to forget about the poverty that awaited you back home in 1500’s England.  The goal of entertaining a crowd of people has continued into the present.

Today, we still wish to be entertained when we sit down in the theater but we are also prepared for more.  We want to feel emotions and connect with characters who are different from ourselves.  This idea has been utilized by some artists as a mode of change within the world outside of theater.  I’m not exactly sure when the shift began but we are just starting to see its ripples.

For me it began with the musicalRENT.  RENT brought a spotlight onto the issue of HIV and AIDS in a way that had never before been done.  People were able to sing along with the songs and connect with these characters.  We may not be diagnosed and dying of AIDS in the early 1990’s but we can certainly imagine we are and realize how important the issue is.  A dialogue was started.

Then came Next to Normal, a musical about a family coping with a matriarch who has delusions of her dead son and is bipolar.  This show paved the way for a discussion about mental health issues and the toll they can take on a family.  There were conversations about whether or not people should be medicated in order to deal with the issue.  The children of these parents were also focused on and questions about whether or not it is healthy for them to live with a parent that has a diagnosed mental illness.  These questions and concerns didn’t just disappear when the show left Broadway.  Every time the show is performed around the country these questions get thought about by the communities that see the show.

Currently on Broadway there are multiple shows continuing the idea of theater starting conversations and making impacts.  The play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime speaks to autism.  The musical Fun Home deals with LGBT issues and suicide.  Matilda is a musical dealing with abusive adults.  Spring Awakening is a story of teens learning about sexuality in 1600’s Germany.

On a recent trip to New York City I was able to see Spring Awakening.  In the current production of the show, originally staged by Deaf West based in California, the deaf culture has been incorporated into the show’s storyline.  The entire production is done in American Sign Language and has selected certain characters as deaf.  This adds a new dimension to the show because not only is it discussing young people discovering their sexuality in a world that tried to hide them from it but it also deals with being a deaf person, particularly at that time in history.  It allows for conversations about sexuality, deaf culture, and the ability to be inclusive of all people who want to go to the theater.

Community Psychology is all about working towards addressing issues of social justice but that can only happen if conversations about those issues are started.  Theater is no longer a vacuum where the viewer simply goes to be entertained.  Viewers are being force to look at themselves and the world to find meaning in what they just watched.  In order to find meaning those dialogues occur and may be begin working towards fixing the issue.  Sure, some people will continue to go to the theater just to be entertained and to forget about the world for a little while.  It is my hope though that more theater will be created that forces the viewer to think critically about an issue and potentially lead to positive change.

#commpysch

Jackie Marcoux is a graduate student in the Community Social Psychology program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

by Eric Johnson, University of Masssachusetts Lowell

Globalization can be defined as “a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations,” and has lead to greater diversity within countries, opening more opportunities for both powerful collaboration and conflicts of values and ideas (What is Globalization?, 2015, para. 1).  Forces of globalization contributed to the birth of Community Psychology, whose competencies for practice as outlined by Scott & Wolfe (2015) may play a large role in promoting peaceful and mutually beneficial relationships between countries, cultures, and fellow community members.  Specifically, one of the foundational principles of Community Psychology emphasizes the necessity for community practitioners to develop strong cross-cultural competency to improve their ability to work with diverse groups of people (Scott & Wolfe, 2015, p. 44).  Greater cross-cultural competency is a strength every person should work to develop in order to be successful in today’s increasingly multicultural societies.

Scott and Wolfe (2015) define cross-cultural competency as the “ability to interact, function, and work effectively among people who may not share your demographic attributes, language, beliefs, history, and experiences” (p. 116).  In order to develop this competency, community practitioners must become familiar with the concepts of culture, social identity, privilege and power (Scott & Wolfe, 2015).  These factors all interact with one another in any community setting, and must be taken into account when working with diverse groups of people in order to ensure the effectiveness of the work being done.

Cross-cultural competency skillsplay an important role on all scales of cross-cultural interaction taking place in today’s world, from the interaction between governments and leaders of different countries, to communication between diverse members living within a single community.  On Monday, September 28^th 2015, President Barack Obama delivered a speech to the United Nations General Assembly (the link for this speech can be found at the end of this post) during which he shared his vision for a stronger world through promoting the respect of human rights and dignity (President Obama: Speech at UNGA, 2015).Part of this vision included empowering marginalized groups of people to be able to access resources and markets for commerce to improve their standard of living.  In order to do so, the United States plans to communicate regularly with different countries across the world in order to establish relationships that can promote more peaceful methods for resolving conflicts of values and interests.  These interactions demand a high level of cross-cultural competency on the part of government officials when communicating with ambassadors from diverse countries.

President Obama also referenced the incredible amount of diversity present within America’s major cities, a phenomenon that is occurring in countries all across the world.  Globalization has lead to greater travel and immigration, explaining why populations in any given country today are highly diverse.  In order to build strong communities that act on the behalf of everyone, members must strengthen their own cross-cultural competencies in order to embrace diversity in their neighborhoods, schools, and more.  This would improve the inclusivity of any given community, and allows individual communities to develop adaptive strategies to address issues negatively affecting their members (Scott & Wolfe, 2015).  In the long run, diverse communities provide a wealth of skills and resources that can be accessed through collaboration between diverse community members.  In addition to the necessity for cross-cultural competency on the part of government officials from different countries negotiating, cross-cultural competency plays a crucial role in the development of strong communities through enabling greater collaboration.

Community Psychology will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in enabling communities and countries to adapt to the changes brought on by globalization, as their principles aim to promote the well-being of all humans.  This vision for the field aligns with President Obama’s vision for a stronger world in the future through respecting the dignity and rights of all individuals to recognize their own goals and achieve success.  Cross-cultural competency is one of the many principles of Community Psychology that has the potential to aid in bringing this vision to life, through encouraging respectful and beneficial communication and collaboration between diverse groups of people.

To read the transcript of Obama’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly, se the following link:

http://www.shallownation.com/2015/09/27/video-president-obama-speech-at-united-nations-general-assembly-unga-sept-28-2015/

To learn more about globalization and its effects on countries, see the following link:

http://www.globalization101.org/what-is-globalization/

#commpsych

Eric Johnson is a graduate student in the Community Social Psychology program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

References

Scott, V. C., Wolfe, S. M. (2015). Community Psychology: Foundations for Practice. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Video& Transcript: President Obama: Speech at United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Sept. 28, 2015. (2015, September 28). Retrieved September 28, 2015.

What Is Globalization? | Globalization101. (2015). Retrieved September 28, 2015.

By Erin Clifford, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Part 1: Autism

Community psychology is a bright, shiny, fairly new area of study can help bring resounding, meaningful change to a multitude of communities that in the 21st century. Simply defined, community psychology is “concerned with understanding people in context of their communities, the prevention of the problems of living, the celebration of human diversity and the pursuit of social justice through social action” (Scott & Wolfe, 2015). In the first part of this three part blog series, I bring to attention one of the many areas that community psychology can be applied to: autism. I chose to connect community psychology and autism for this first blog because I am closely tied to the autism community after working with individuals with autism for 6 years. This is my attempt to bring community psychology closer to home for a community I hold dear to my heart.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in communication and social skills, as well as displays of restricted and repetitive behaviors. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) currently estimates the prevalence rate of autism to be around 1 in 68 children, up from 1 in 88 in the early 2000’s (Bookman-Frazee et al., 2012). This number will continue to rise, and because it will continue to rise, community psychology may have a chance to be readily applied to the autism community should it be needed. And indeed, the need for community psychology application is ever present in that many families may not have accurate, or any, resources for support in raising and caring for a child with autism. Luckily, community psychologists are already making endeavors in the autism community.

One example is the endeavor of Lauren Brookman-Frazee, Aubyn Stahmer, Karyn Lewis, Joshua Feder, and Sarah Reed, all community psychologists, to develop a researchcommunity collaborative group with a focus on autism that was developed based on community-based participatory research principles (Brookman-Frazee, et al. 2012).  Their efforts are articulated in a 2012 article from The Journal of Community Psychology. (Follow this link to read the whole article: https://drive.google.com/file/ d/0B_7sOuxnRLcnRTVyWVpVblR2LWM/view?usp=sharing) They explain that in order to successfully promote and implement the most effective treatment options for children with autism, there needs to be close collaboration with community providers. They refer to this concept as community-based participatory research (CBPR). CBPR is “used in the field of public health to reduce inequities in care through active involvement of community members, organizations, and researchers in all aspects of the research process”, and “ addresses disparities by promoting mutual transfer of expertise and shared decision making between researchers and community members” (Brookman-Frazee et al., 2012). Using the CBPR principles and model, the team created the Southern California BRIDGE Collaborative in 2011, a research-community partnership that brings together practitioners, funding agency representatives, researchers, and families of children with autism to develop community-wide, sustainable plans for serving infants and toddlers at risk for autism. BRIDGE stands for Bond, Regulate, Interact, Develop, Guide, words that reflect the values of the treatments offered, as well as to represent the bridge being built between research and practice. (Brookman-Frazee et al., 2012). The BRIDGE Collaborative was the first use of the partnership model in the field of treatment options for children with autism.

This example of the BRIDGE Collaborative allows us to see that community psychology is readily applied to the autism community based on the fact that it is concerned with addressing the problems of living. Within the autism community, especially within the community of children with autism, it can be seen that the awareness and availability of treatment options can be considered problems of living. This application of community psychology brings it closer to home because it clearly demonstrates that with the combined efforts of community psychologists, and the goals of community psychology itself, there has been a resounding and meaningful step in helping the autism community that I feel so close to.

#commpsych

Erin Clifford is a graduate student in the Autism Studies program at the University of Massachusetts. 

References

Brookman‐Frazee, L., Stahmer, A. C., Lewis, K., Feder, J. D., & Reed, S. (2012). Building a researchcommunity collaborative to improve community care for infants and toddlers at-risk for autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Community Psychology, 40(6), 715-734. doi:10.1002/ jcop.21501

Scott, V. C., & Wolfe, S. M. (2015). Community Psychology: Foundations for Practice. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. References

By Taylor Boulia, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Image credit:  http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2015/02/20/white-house-announces-president-obama-will-seek-emergency-court-order-to-restart-immigration-usurpation

Diversity is a term many of us have been taught at a young age, however we might not have fully understood it at the time. We would look around our classrooms and see that not every one looked like us, dressed like us, talked like us and we learned that those differences were normal and were okay. As we grew older we learned to accept and value those differences between ourselves and the people around us.

Community Psychologists have a huge respect for diversity in this country. They accept and understand as well as value the differences that are apparent between members of a community. Those differences can be many things such as gender, culture, socio- economicstatus and even language (Scott& Wolfe, 2015). They have been teaching the concepts of respecting diversity to many around them and are helping communities to become more aware of diversity and are helping those communities celebrate those diversities.

However with the spreading of diversity it seems as though in one area it has been lacking; the celebration of the different languages that are spoken in the United States. There has been more than one push for The United States to set the official language as English (Miller, 2015). The push for setting an official language seems to contradict all that is being taught about celebrating diversity. If we were celebrating diversity within the country why would we be pushing for a change that would leave out many communities of this country that do not speak English or do not celebrate English as their fluent language?

Maybe those who have been in favor of the push were sick of hearing “press one for English, press two for Spanish, et cetera…” or maybe it is those who are jumping on Donald Trump’s band wagon on immigration or just wanted the number of U.S. citizens who speak English at home to be 100% rather than the 79% that was recorded in a 2011 census (Miller, 2015). The candidate running for president, Trump, has very narrow views on language in the US, even calling out Florida Governor Jeb Bush when Bush insulted Trump in Spanish. Trump said “He’s a nice man. But he should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States” (Tani, 2015).

From growing as a child to seeing differences between myself and those around me to an educated student who is accepting and celebrates those differences, the words spoken by Trump and the push to set the official language of the United States to English would be a step back in time. I believe as a community and as a country we are growing everyday by giving out the respect that is needed. By setting an official language of the United States it would be as though we are taking away respect and acceptance of diversity of those around us. I for one do not support the push for a set language and rather I support the continuation of respect and celebration of everyone around me.

#commpsych #PressOne

Taylor Boulia is a graduate student in the Community Social Psychology program at the University of Massachusetts. 

References

Miller, E.C. (2015). A push for English to be the official language of the US has both a                   dark history and a regressive vision for the future. Retrieved from                                         http://aeon.co/magazine/  society/does-america-need-to-make-english-its-official                  language/

Scott, V.C. & Wolfe, S.M. (2015). Community Psychology: Foundations for Practice. (pp.             47).    Thousand Oaks,CA: Sage.

Tani, M. (2015).Donald Trump: Jeb Bush should be ‘speaking English while in the United

States’. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-jeb-bush-speak- english-2015-9#ixzz3l6DFeU3u

By Tuğba Metinyurt, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Image credit: https://res.cloudinary.com/tremr/image/upload/dugn5ijc64amyiem3egp.jpg

“My adolescence, it was taken from me. I feel that I am in a different world, as if I am not living. Sometimes I wish we died before seeing what we saw. I wish we never came to this world and saw this.”

These words belong to a 16-year-old refugee girl, who fled violence in her home country (Kashi, 2014).

According to annual situation report by UNICEF, in November 2014, 10.9 million Syrians were displaced outside of Syria, including over 3.3 million refugees across Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey and Egypt. More than half of the refugee population are children. (UNICEF, 2014a, p.1)  Syria’s children have witnessed too many violent and traumatic acts. Consequently, they are growing up with feelings of mistrust, betrayal, anger, displacement and uncertainty about their future. Children under the age of 18 are growing up in unsanitary conditions, in need of education, and in need of healthcare and psychological support. These children are at risk of becoming a “lost generation” and they need a sense of belonging in their new environment as well as basic humanitarian needs.

The recently published Bahcesehir Study of Syrian Refugee Children in Turkey (Ozer, Sirin, Oppedal, 2015) interviewed refugee children from Syria. According to this study, three in every four Syrian children had lost a loved one due to the bloody conflict; one in every three children had been hit, tortured or shot at in the course of the conflict. In addition, many people lost access to healthcare and are living in unsanitary conditions where the risk of disease is high. 2,000 schools have either been damaged by the fighting or become temporary shelters for displaced people, greatly disrupting Syrian education. (p. 20-25)

Community psychologists provide services for refugees and seek solutions to provide mental health and health care services, to enhance protective factors such as social support, to engage children and adolescents in preventing discrimination, violence, abuse, exclusion, prejudice and separation of children through educational programs. They also attempt to address the social and physical causes of psychological distress in refugees.

Providing healthcare and education services is vital for protecting the host communities and the refugees. In doing this, they can prevent the built up anger that may threaten host communities in the near future. As Ozer and Sirin stated (2013), “…places like Afghanistan or Rwanda should remind us what happens when refugees are left to their own devices: camps, full of people who feel forgotten and, therefore, hopeless and angry, becomes recruitment grounds for child soldiers. This cycle carries the civil unrest across generations.” To avert this cycle, community psychologists can take an active role in creating a sense of belonging and helping refugees connect to their community. To achieve this goal, time banking can be used as a tool to develop links between refugees and host communities. Time banking is a reciprocity-based economic system where time, instead of money, serves as currency. Time banks allow communities to come together and trade services, connecting people, filling needs, and creating growth. “This program gives refugees and host communities the opportunity to earn time credits for voluntary work and to exchange these credits for the equivalent amount of time of someone else’s skills, serving to develop links between refugees and host communities.” (Webster & Robertson, 2007, p. 156).

It is also promising that many non-profit organizations from around the world, such as UNICEF, USAID, and Save The Children are working together to save Syria’s children. UNICEF is lending a helping hand to these children and their families, providing psycho-social support as well as shelters, warm clothes and accessible education for children (UNICEF, 2014b). In addition to UNICEF, the USAID- No Lost Generation project helps provide psycho-social services through women’s health centers, mobile clinics, and outreach workers to help Syrians deal with the stresses of conflict and displacement. It also leads parent support programs which focuses on helping mothers, fathers, and caretakers develop the skills to cope with stress and to provide protective care for their children (USAID, 2014). The Save The Children team is another organization that runs alternative learning programs and informal education in refugee camps and host communities, providing safe play areas and access to counseling for thousands of children across the region. They also launch back-to-school campaigns to encourage parents to enroll their children (Save The Children, 2014).

If you would like to learn more about the lives of Syrian refugees, I would recommend a short documentary called Syria’s Lost Generation, (Syria’s Lost Generation).

#commpsych
Tuğba Metinyurt is a graduate student in the Community Social Psychology program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

References

Kashi, E. (Director). 2014 Syria’s Lost Generation: Directors Give Voice to War’s Young Refugees. Podcast retrieved from:http://talkingeyesmedia.org/syrias-lost-generation

Ozer, S., &, Sirin, S., (2013, April 30). Provide Education and Health Care for the Refugee Children in Syria, The New York Times. Retrieved from:http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/04/29/finding-solutions-for-syrias-growing-refugee-crisis/provide-education-and-health-care-for-the-refugee-children-in-syria

Ozer, S.,  Sirin, S. & Oppedal, B. (2015). Bahcesehir Study of Syrian Refugee in Turkey. Retrieved from: http://www.fhi.no/dokumenter/4a7c5c4de3.pdf

Save The Children. (2015).  Retrieved from:http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.7998857/k.D075/Syria.htm

UNICEF. (2014a).  Syria Crisis- 2014 Annual situation report, 1-5. Retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org/appeals/files/UNICEF_Syria__Annual_Regional_Crisis_Situation_Report_2014_.pdf

UNICEF. (2014b). Retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org/appeals/syrianrefugees.html

USAID. (2014). Retrieved from: https://www.usaid.gov/results-data/success-stories/coping-conflict-helping-syrians-overcome-trauma-war

Webster, A., Robertson, M., (2007).  Can Community Psychology Meet the Needs of Refugees? The Psychologist, 20(3), 156-158. Retrieved from: http://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/

By Emily Sullivan, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Image credit: http://allthingsd.com/files/2012/12/mind-the-gap.jpg

As an up and coming discipline, Community Psychology has made its mark both in the applied field setting as well as through empirical research endeavors. However, there exists a clear divide between academic community psychologists and their practicing colleagues. In a field that focuses on bringing about positive change and strengthening communities, it appears as though the fundamental principles of this field have not been applied to those who practice it.

Academics in this field established their power early in the development of Community Psychology. It was extremely important to progress this field with a strong research base to create a legitimate and respected reputation. Therefore, practicing community psychologists were not taken into considerationand drastically underrepresented members of the field during many conferences and trainings; on one specific occasion they weren’t even invited (Scott & Wolfe, 2015, p. 9)! Practicing Community Psychologists were not only invisible within their discipline but to the outside world as well. The label “Community Psychologist” was not used for practitioners, though their skill sets and education was one that filled this title. Therefore, peers and clients would not recognize practitioners as such, further hiding these applied community psychologists (Scott & Wolfe, 2015, p.11). It is quite a paradox; individuals who work hard towards empowerment, strength and change within communities remained invisible, weak and disconnected within their field.

In recent years, with the growing popularity of Community Psychology as a discipline, practitioners were able to uncover niches within new settings which allowed them to more visibly apply the fundamentals of this field (Scott & Wolfe, 2015, p. 11). Also through developing a clear definition of community psychology practice and competencies by which to become a practitioner the once strained relationship between practitioners and academics was beginning to mend itself (Scott & Wolfe, 2015, p.20). Although this relationship has improved and both parties appear to have more equated value and stake within the field of community psychology, it is reasonable to assume that more work still needs to be done.

The ever obvious difference between practitioners and academics is not only shown in how they contribute towards the field, but their perception of community psychology as a whole. It is understandable to assume that based on sheer differences in the types of roles you fill within a field, a gap between these roles will be created. Perhaps a phenomenon often discussed in the context of Clinical Psychology, egocentrism, could help explain and support this theory. “An egocentric bias occurs when one thinks of the world from one’s own point of view and self perceptiontoo much (“Self Perception,” para. 1).” Perhapsan already damaged relationship has been further strained by the presence of egocentric bias towards individual work, on behalf of both academic and practice Community Psychologists. It would be beneficial for both groups to play more of a role in each other’sspecialty, after all both academics and practitioners contribute greatly to the success of Community Psychology. Through collaboration, an appreciation for each other’s work could be achieved and the cycle of egocentric thought could be broken. There is more success found by working together than separately. Perhaps though the utilization of the principles of Community Psychology the “community” comprised of practitioners and academics can be strengthened and empowered as a single unit.

How each group perceives the field of Community Psychology also plays a large role in the divide between these groups. Academics focus more on their empirical research, while practitioners actively apply the fundamentals of Community Psychology within the communities they aim to serve; of course there is a disconnect between them. How can academics provide strong empirical evidence for practices which they do not regularly experience? It seems like an impossible feat. Alternately, how can practitioners hope to apply research which can be disconnected from the specific community which they serve? This gap is only hindering the advancements and successes of Community Psychology. It is important for both groups to actively engage with one another and involve each other in specific projects or experiences. Active involvement will help make research and interventions more effective and tailored towards a specific communities. In terms of Community Psychology, it is important that we mind the gap between academics and practitioners, but also strive to close it.

#commpsych

Emily Sullivan is a graduate student in the Autism Studies program at the University of Massachusetts. 

References

Self Perception – Thinking From Your Point of View. (n.d.). Retrieved September 4, 2015, from: http://www.psychologycampus.com/social-psychology/self-perception.html

Scott, C. V, & Wolfe, M. S. (2015) Community Psychology Foundations For Practice. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc.