Regional conferences—A capacity‐building mandate: Report on CRCP2011—Building Bridges and Building a Regional Structure

Abstract

over 400 participants from 37 countries, including 20 nations/territories in the Caribbean. A broad scientific program, organized around six conference themes, addressed strengths and challenges to psychology in the region; the current state of psychological research, assessment, and intervention; historical, cultural, and language influences; and links between Caribbean and global models. Conference outcomes included planning for a series of publications to expand on conference themes and presentations, as well as establishment of a steering group to launch a regional organization to support the science and practice of psychology in the Caribbean.

Innovations in clinical psychology with Caribbean peoples.

“…Moreover, these individual, family, and community challenges may indicate a disturbing sense that Caribbean societies are unraveling, highlighting the need for a Caribbean-oriented psychology. The call for a self-defined Caribbean psychology was frequently restated by psychologists from across the Caribbean who presented at the Caribbean Regional Conference of Psychology (CRCP) 2011 (Thompson et al, 2013). In summary, increasing capacity to provide the greatly needed services in effective ways remains the challenge.…”

Toward a Caribbean psychology: Context, imperatives, and future directions.

“…Although the specific outcomes of the 2002 conference are unknown, the organizers and attendees provided invaluable input and participated fully in the most recent regional conference: Caribbean Regional Conference of Psychology 2011 (CRCP 2011), which was held in Nassau, The Bahamas. CRCP 2011 was hosted by the Bahamas Psychological Association, but the role of its dedicated regional conference committees and invaluable international support (see Thompson et al, 2013, for additional information about the conference) cannot be understated. In many ways, the synergy experienced in the process of organizing the conference is an apt reflection of the conference theme: "Psychological Science and Well-Being: Building Bridges for Tomorrow."…”