It can be difficult to maintain a counter-dominant perspective 
and work in that way.  Here are some things that might help:-
1)  Choose where to work - (so I chose to work in learning 
disability services rather than mental health as at that time 
there was an upsurge of interest in more social/community 
orientated approaches and there wasn't medical domination) - 
it was just easier to achieve principled change.
2)  Create alliances - you can achieve little alone, but lots 
more in coalition with others - these alliances are never pure, 
but based on identifying what you can agree and work 
together on.  It is essential that any alliance looks outside 
psychology, and the more it involves non-system people the 
better (but it shouldn't exclude them either).  Alliances with 
activists, people inside and out, people who are critical and 
people who want change, people who stand to gain from 
positive change, people who can stop it or allow it to happen.
3)  Take the long view - it takes years to establish counter-
hegemonic blocs and successes are relative.
4)  Learn from what happens.
5)  Pick your battles carefully - you can't win them all, so look 
at the balance of forces - who is for , who against and who'll 
go with the flow?
6)  Beware of the greed of the system which diverts your 
attention and energy to the non-important activity that just 
feeds it (but will someone please show me how to do this?!).
7)  Don't take things personally - understand what happens 
firstly structurally and in systemic terms.
8)  Use evidence and information, but don't expect it to have 
more than a supportive, contributory effect on debate and 
struggle.
9) Keep a a sense of perspective and look after your own well 
being.



On 11 Sep 2005 at 12:45, Michael ridley-Dash wrote:

> 
> As a recent psychology graduate wanting to adopt a community
> psychological approach successful in practice, I know from the list
> and others the personal cost of adopting poistions against current
> paradigms and practice. I worked as a psychiatric nursing assistant
> before my degree and there are people who flow against the tide, trust
> the experience of those with mental health problems, try to work in
> way which doesn't oppress service-users: and they undoubtly face grave
> problems at a variety of levels marginilisation in both
> social/professional work spheres (not being invited on works nights
> out/ given bad rotas/ people leave the smoking room when they come
> in). Theseexamples sound trivial and in the grand scheme of things
> are, but they matter and are examples of was that people who try to
> change the order of things are punished.
> 
> I was lucky enough not to be on the receiving end of such treatment as
> my values were still being shaped at the time. However, I was party to
> oppresive practice and was inducted into it. I remember one day in
> particular when to gain favour with my fellow nursing staff I began to
> join in the laconic abusive discourses about one service user, who I
> actually really liked. The more extreme and vile I became (in my own
> mind) the more accepted and liked I was by staff. I felt as if a wave
> was washing over me and part of me wanted to be taken by it, it would
> be so easy now I thought. I hated what I was saying, but I loved the
> reaction it was recieving. It scares me that I could be taken aloft in
> that manner and reproduced and co-create oppression. I never want to
> let that happen again. 
> 
> It seems to be irony of the worst kind however that those who wish to
> be social in their persepctive become isolated individuals in their
> work-spheres. We cannot have a truly social approach which requires
> the individuals to be matryed in order to achieve change. This backs
> up an underlying theory of change being brought about by strong people
> rather than strong communities. We can see this discourse transmitted
> through all our media channels news, entertainment etc.
> 
> I do agree that to do 'community psychology' you do have live it, but
> that may be easier for some people due to social factors than others.
> My own stratergy for future survival is unfortunately a very
> individualistic one; choose the right NHS trust or academic department
> where I might not be shot down for taking a social/participatory
> approach. This again doesn't square with my values as my priorities
> should be the practice not my own safety within the practice. But if
> I'm just going to be a party to oppression to gain a proffession/
> means of survival, then I might as well stay home quivering under the
> duvet with a bottle of whisy.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Phyl <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>     It seems impossible to ensure I am surrounded at work by people
>     who can critique and support at the same time, in that friendly
>     way. I don't know who I can trust at work, in the NHS. Half the
>     time it seems like everyone is just struggling to survive in the
>     NHS, and that my NHS community is sick. I'd like my actions to
>     survive, but I'd also like to survive myself. Even people I
>     thought I could rely turn out not to be trustworthy. Phyl
> 
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