Becoming a Community Clinical Psychologist: Integration of Community and Clinical Practices in Psychologists' Training

Gibson, Kerry; Sandenbergh, Rob; Swartz, Leslie

doi:10.1177/008124630103100106

Cited by 18 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…From its roots in the early 1980s, the presence of an 'indigenous' community psychology has been ever present in the discourse around transformation in psychology and mental health. Although there are differing definitions of community psychology (Gibson et al, 2001), with varying theoretical leanings, most clinical psychology training programmes include exposure to some form of community psychology, at the theoretical level and/or at the practical level. One of the major outcomes of this focus on community psychology has been an increasing acceptance of less traditional roles for professional psychologists in South Africa (Ahmed & Pillay, 2004;Leach et al, 2003;Watson & Fouche, 2007).…”

Section: A Clinical-community Psychology?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical psychology training in South Africa: A call to action

Pillay

Ahmed

Bawa

2013

South African Journal of Psychology

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With the profession of clinical psychology and its formal training programmes less than 40 years old in South Africa, it is important that efforts are made to critically examine its challenges and the extent to which it is meeting the prevailing mental health needs. The profession has gone through a chequered history in South Africa and needs to look at how it realigns its goals and practices, to be in tune with the imperatives of democracy, and to ensure that mental health benefits accrue to all of the country's people, rather than a minority. To this end, the authors examine training issues, such as recruitment, curricula, and future directions. We assert that a clinical psychology that draws from current resources and foregrounds a primary health-care orientation can start to address some of the challenges facing training in South Africa. KeywordsMental health, primary health care, psychologist, psychology, training Although professional psychology is not new in South Africa, it is still relatively young, considering formal training in the sub-disciplines (e.g., clinical psychology) began less than 40 years ago. The field straddles both apartheid and post-apartheid eras and carries a significant history that has affected its development and recognition nationally and internationally. With the demise of apartheid, the accessibility of mental health training and services to all aspirant students and academics, as well as in the development and production of psychological and mental health knowledge, by a wider group of researchers is crucial.South African psychology has come a long way, from its tainted history of association with apartheid (Cooper, Nicholas, Seedat, & Statman, 1990) to the point of organising and hosting the 2012 International Congress of Psychology (ICP 2012) and welcoming to its shores psychology colleagues from around the world. It is, therefore, an appropriate time to reflect on how South African psychology can consolidate some of the gains and focus on further developing clinical psychology training within the context of present day and historical challenges. Although research

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Section: A Clinical-community Psychology?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical psychology training in South Africa: A call to action

Pillay

Ahmed

Bawa

2013

South African Journal of Psychology

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“…Teaching experiences in community psychology are commonly described in the context of professional training at a postgraduate level (Alcade & Walsh-Bowers, 1997;Gibson, Sandenbergh, & Swartz, 2001;Pillay, 2003). These articles have focused on didactics or teaching method.…”

Section: Teaching Community Psychologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“Community Psychology is for Poor, Black People”: Pedagogy and Teaching of Community Psychology in South Africa

Carolissen

Rohleder

Bozalek

et al. 2010

Equity & Excellence in Education

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The term "community" holds historical connotations of political, economic, and social disadvantage in South Africa. Many South African students tend to interpret the term "community" in ways that suggest that community and community psychology describe the experiences of exclusively poor, black people. Critical pedagogies that position the teaching process as a transformative activity and that challenge student perceptions about the status quo are central in teaching community psychology. This article uses the subdiscipline of community psychology to discuss the importance of pedagogy. It uses a module that was presented at Stellenbosch University (SU) in the Western Cape, South Africa, as an illustrative example. The module was taught collaboratively with the social work department at the University of the Western Cape. Forty-five psychology students from a historically white university (SU) and 50 social work students from a historically black university (UWC) engaged in face-to-face workshops and virtual (e-learning) assignments that interrogated notions of the self, community, and identity. Final student essays were analysed qualitatively for themes illustrating aspects of the human capabilities approach to pedagogy adopted in this project.In a global context where much emphasis is placed on graduate attributes, one of the core anticipated outcomes for student development in higher education is the capacity to become

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“…While these kinds of articles reflect an ongoing struggle for being relevant and critical on one level, through the content analysis we also discern the professions' attempt to forge new creative roles within the new social trajectory of South African society (e.g. Gibson, Sandenbergh & Swartz, 2001 ). A few articles address issues of disciplinary and profes sional transformation in psychology, referring to professionalism among providers of community mental health care in South Africa (e.g.…”

Section: Relevance Appropriateness and Role Of Psychologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends and Redress in Community Psychology during 10 Years of Democracy (1994–2003): A Journal-Based Perspective

Seedat

Mackenzie

Stevens

2004

South African Journal of Psychology

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Drawing on a content analysis of selected articles from the South African Journal of Psychology (SAJP) and Psychology in Society (PINS), the authors reflect on the extent to which South African community psychology's early vision resonates in publications in post-1994 South African psychology. Concerned about the Euro-American, patriarchal, classist, and individualised orientation in clinical, counselling, and social psychology, com munity psychology's vision arose as a response to this crisis of 'relevance' in the 1980s in South Africa. It placed the accent on accessible psychosocial services, re-defining the roles of psychologists, democratising psychological practice, prevention, competencies, empowerment of under-represented groups, collaboration, and inclusive modes of knowl edge production. Our content analysis suggests that South African community psychology tends to operate within a porous disciplinary boundary, sharing academic concerns with a larger group of critical psychologists. Authorship characteristics show that for the 1994 to 2003 period male and females were more or less equally represented as authors, the majority of whom were affiliated to academic institutions. In contrast, co-authorship as an expression of collaboration did not feature strongly and the community voice was unrepre sented at authorship level. Most of the articles tended to assume an empirical or theoreti cal slant and examined themes consistent with community psychology's early vision and focus. Similarly, research in community psychology seemed to have attended to selected priority psychosocial issues and drawn on historically neglected groups, including black adolescents and adults, to serve as participants. By way of conclusion, we surmise that community psychology, albeit an under-represented branch of psychology, may be one of many areas of engagement for those aligned to the quest for emancipatory psychological practice and theory in South Africa.

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Becoming a Community Clinical Psychologist: Integration of Community and Clinical Practices in Psychologists' Training

Cited by 18 publications

References 11 publications

Clinical psychology training in South Africa: A call to action

Clinical psychology training in South Africa: A call to action

“Community Psychology is for Poor, Black People”: Pedagogy and Teaching of Community Psychology in South Africa

Trends and Redress in Community Psychology during 10 Years of Democracy (1994–2003): A Journal-Based Perspective

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