Rural Psychology: Literature Review, Reasons for Its Need, and Challenges

Abstract

Psychology has traditionally neglected the specific needs of rural communities. This paper reviews the situation of psychology in rural areas and discusses the need for a ruralpsychology. An open internet review using Google search engine and 'rural psychology' as key word was conducted, as well as an academic literature review. Results show that psychology tends to be framed in urban terms and that rural communities have particularities that call for a contextualized approach and not a mere reproduction of urban practices. In order for rural psychology to become a relevant area of debate, it has to demonstrate real and practical usefulness, put into question assumptions that implicitly frame mainstream psychology in urban terms, and generate training programs for psychologists.