Thanks Annie,
You have summarised exactly what I wanted to say!
I have recently joined the list serve and have found some of the
discussions very useful - particularly those that have directed readers
to useful articles and books, and those that have offered thoughtful
reflections on current movements in psychology. However, I have felt
disappointed in the amount of e-mails that have come through that don't
seem to reflect what I understood to be central value of community
psychology; that is an openness to different perspectives. I know
community psychology is a developing 'discipline' and as such will
inevitably go through a period of defining what it is and what it is
not. But I hope this can happen in an open and inclusive way without any
individuals feeling rejected and personally criticised. What I like
best about community psychology is the stance that everyone has equal
value and that professional status is not necessary for community
psychology practice. Please let's not become 'precious' about 'our
patch'.
Despite having said that I very much enjoy being part of the serve for
all those positive contributions that are made! I look forward to
continuing to learn more about what the rest of you are doing and
thinking about.
Alex Hamlin
-----Original Message-----
From: The UK Community Psychology Discussion List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Annie Mitchell
Sent: 13 July 2006 01:18
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: expectations
Dear All,
Dear all,
The contributions I especially appreciate are when someone sends out a
question and others are generous with thoughtul replies; when people
send links or information about resources; when people send
descriptions of work that they have done (in any field where there are
potential lessons for undertanding and practice of community
psychology broadly defined); where people offer thoughtful and
inclusive reflections;
and contributions that make me think and question my own assumptions.
The contributions that make me think maybe I want to leave the list are
those when we seem to be getting close to personal insults, individual
domination of the list or professional/personal competitiveness . There
is more of that than I expected when i joined the list. But I value
being able to stick with it and trying to process differences and
disagreements.
Annie
-----Original Message-----
From: The UK Community Psychology Discussion List on behalf of David
Fryer
Sent: Wed 12/07/2006 16:03
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: expectations
This seems another opportunity to articulate another expectation about
this list.
I expect this to be a list on which discussion takes place about
community psychology. I do not expect it to be a discussion list about
clinical psychology, a discussion list about health service provision, a
discussion list upon which one offers and discloses anguish and receives
counselling, a discussion list upon which one ventilates one's anger at
life's injustices as one sees them, a discussion lists on which one
socialises etc., except insofar as that is unavoidable in discussion
community psychology. If I expected to discuss those other matters I
would join or start up different lists.
Because community psychology is not just a body of knowledge claims but
a set of practices underpinned by a set of powerfully held values, I
expect a community psychology discussion list to not only be about
community psychology but to embody community psychology values and its
processes to be consistent with those values.
I regard community psychology as, crucially, a critical approach. Much
of what gets offered as community psychology seems to me to be as
problematic as psychology in general.
I do not think critical scrutiny of either psychology in general or
critical community psychology in particular can be overdone and I do not
see reflexive critical scrutiny of our own ideas, practices etc as a
diversion from action but as an essential component of critical
psychology action (praxis). I regard it as essential that we constantly
question whether what community psychologists are collectively engaged
in is making things worse rather than better. Foucault and other writers
have given us no excuse to be ignorant or naive as to how problematic
and complicit a discipline psychology in its various guises is.
I agree that we have common struggles - one of those common struggles is
to be aware of, avoid collusion with or contest an ideologically and
practically problematic discipline which promotes the interests of the
most powerful and works against the interests of the least powerful,
irrespective of the intentions of many of those enacting it.
So, whilst I also have other expectations too and I also accept the
right of other people posting to this list to have other expectations
and I am here just making my own expectations clear, one of my
expectations of this list is that it is a forum for discussion about,
and embodying, critical community psychology.
Regarding time . . . personally, I do not contribute to this list
relatively often because I have too much time on my hands but because
there is so much injustice and misery and so little time to contest it.
Because of that time pressure, another expectation I have of this list
is that we do not waste each others' time with matters which are really
nothing to do with tackling injustice and misery through critical
community psychology
David
David Fryer
Community Psychology Group
University of Stirling
FK9 4LA
Scotland
+44 (0) 1786 467650 (tel)
+44 (0) 1786 467641 (fax)
[log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: The UK Community Psychology Discussion List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Franks, Wendy -
Clinical Psychologist
Sent: 12 July 2006 1:23 pm
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [COMMUNITYPSYCHUK] what do WHICH people want?
Hi all,
I've only just had time to skim some of the arguments in this
thread, but was aware that Michael's comment below struck me as
important, and that it also seemed to get lost in the discussion.
As someone who has the privilege of earning a living from
working with people, and (for now) seem to have a lot of choice in how I
do that, I try to focus my energies to work in ways that at least attend
to social inequalities and how they relate to people's health. I'm aware
that trying to maintain a critical perspective on many of the dilemmas I
encounter in this work (and that are being discussed on this list in a
lot more detail than I feel I have time to fully engage in) leave me
feeling uncertain and ineffective, as well as sometimes exhausted,
anxious and even a little defensive about what I'm doing. I'm aware that
I do not often feel as powerful as I am sometimes imagined to be because
of my relatively priviliged position, which sometimes adds to my
experience of responsibility without much real power.
I really appreciated the inclusiveness of Michael's post, and
the recognition of our common struggles and needs, as well as our
differences.
Wendy
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Swindlehurst
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 06 July 2006 19:53
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [COMMUNITYPSYCHUK] what do WHICH people
want?
As a service user and carer research participant for
many years now, I can appreciate a little of what Sue, Petra and David
are debating here and, such sensible considerations have led to great
improvements in research methods and attitudes in recent years from the
service user participants point of view - enabling much common progress.
However, I cannot help but feel you are also dissipating your energies
further by trying to achieve the opposite. You are members of the
community as vulnerable as the rest of us and it is not so much our
uniqueness which matters, but the greater things we all have in common.
In this, are the answers to what we all really and unifyingly need and,
perhaps, such academic considerations can be over-done and divert us
from the objective?
Mike S
----- Original Message -----
From: Petra Boynton
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Thursday, July 06, 2006 5:45 PM
Subject: Re: what do WHICH people want?
Again I agree in part with David, but I think we
also have to be careful not to make too many assumptions about research.
David's account presents research as something led by researchers whose
voices are heard and whose study designs/contacts are priviledged. That
is common practice and may well lead to the 'usual suspects' or dominant
groups being studied or even over researched, as well as work being
completed that isn't necessarily supportive or reflective of
communities.
However the study I linked to was developed
entirely within a community by community members. That community does
have a very strong network which could easily inform links to others.
So it would be community members rather than researchers/practitioners
who would be providing introductions and links. Whilst I accept that
could lead to the 'usual suspects' being studied, in this case I'd say
it would expand the range of people being spoken to, and also empowers a
community group who were brave enough to challenge research ideas and
suggest they had a voice and something to say. It would be a shame that
our belief that research is always entirely dominated by academics and
researchers might lead to projects actively organised by communities
being excluded or overlooked.
Whilst we rightly should focus on the needs of
communities we are working with, being critical also means focusing on
who is doing the work within research. All too often it's junior female
staff who're set the task of identifying participants, where lots of
time is put in but few contacts are made because the researcher doesn't
know the area/community or is unable without help and introductions to
respectfully and appropriately liase with a community. This does lead
to wasted time, effort and money - which isn't just a problem for
researchers, it's a problem for everyone involved. And it leads to
junior staff feeling disempowered and distressed. So whilst I agree
it's a great idea to look critically at work, if we're not empowering
and training our staff to do this (and most staff aren't given this
opportunity) then we will continue to see research that isn't empowering
anyone.
At 16:56 06/07/2006, you wrote:
I agree with Sue here.
I believe that 'saving time' and
avoiding 'cash' being 'wasted' by identifying 'participants', 'community
leads' and 'existing networks' by going via existing researchers' and of
existing projects often leads to the rounding up of the 'usual suspects'
and the privileging of the same old voices (and silencing of others).
These concerns were not reduced by reading Phyl's post where a 'wide
range of statutory and voluntary bodies' on a steering group are
proposed as a filter / access route for proposed research.. I also note,
in terms of whose interests are paramount, that prioritising the saving
time and money is to privilege the interests of researchers and funders,
rather than those of community members. Moreover, I don't see 'focusing
on other projects . . . as a diversion' so much as a perversion. It is
important, in my view, to see the social world and its problems through
the eyes of community members, not through the eyes of those who make
their living studying or providing services for community members and it
is particularly important to privilege community members' interests in
the defining of what is problematic and how it will be tackled rather
than those of service providers and other researchers.
Admittedly, some communities are
over-researched and their members are at risk of research fatigue,
sometimes research based on secondary sources is good enough and it is
pointless to reinvent the wheel again and again so there are
occasionally arguments for refraining from doing more research and for
working with what research has already been done. However it is, in my
view, extremely rare that one comes across research and projects which
are genuinely critical community psychological in values and assumptions
and research based on secondary analysis of non critical community
psychology work is, hopefully, flawed as far as members of this list are
concerned. On the other hand, secondary research (carried out from a
critical community psychology perspective) into pre-existing research
(carried out from a non critical community psychology perspective) could
be of great interest in exposing the role of much community based
research in serving the interests of the powerful or, more precisely,
enacting the micropolitics which accomplish the macropolitical agenda of
the status quo.
David
David Fryer
Community Psychology Group
University of Stirling
FK9 4LA
Scotland
+44 (0) 1786 467650 (tel)
+44 (0) 1786 467641 (fax)
[log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: The UK Community Psychology
Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Sue McPherson
Sent: 06 July 2006 12:54 pm
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [COMMUNITYPSYCHUK] what do
WHICH people want?
I find Petra's views a bit problematic,
likewise the comment given by Michelle Lee, about a project she was
involved in, to "empower the Bangladeshi Community to reach their people
in an appropriate manner."
Obviously, there are different levels at
which one can intervene, and while already existing networks can be
useful, there's a difference between using them to identify key members
in the community (see above and below) and seeking out members of the
community who wouldn't otherwise have a voice. Of course talking to
community representatives would be important, but I don't see it
"wasting time" to seek out untapped resources - people living in the
community who are not already biased in their views. Most people are
only too glad to volunteer to talk if notices are put up requesting
their assistance. I guess the funding referred to below can quickly be
used up in the time taken (and having to be paid for) for putting up
such notices, making contact, setting up interviews, and seeking
permission from ethics committees), but I imagine the purpose of the
study would indicate which way to go - getting in at ground level or
midway up. and of course, whether divisions between different cultures
will be emphasised or only dealt with when necessary.
Sue McPherson
----- Original Message -----
From: Petra Boynton
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wednesday, July 05, 2006 1:24 PM
Subject: Re: what do WHICH people want?
I agree with David up to a point.
Whilst focusing on other projects could act as a diversion, given the
diverse needs of the community in Tower Hamlets and that existing
researchers have worked effectively and respectfully within that
community networking with them could at least identify ways of effective
working and save time trying to identify participants and key community
leads. Whilst the PCT's funded you cash can often be wasted trying to
find people to be involved in programmes where networks already exist
(and you can always step outside those if you need to).
At 12:43 05/07/2006, you wrote:
Dear Deborah,
If I were you I would not start by
seeing what other researchers have done and, especially, I would not
start by looking for another study done elsewhere which could act as a
guide or template as to what you should do and how you should do it. If
you came across such a study I would put it on one side until you have
done your own work so it does not affect how you work.
I note that in your account the impetus
for the research comes not from the community but from health visitors
and district nurses rather than from residents in Tower Hamlets. In
whose interests is the proposed research being done, really? Who is
powerful in deciding who is studied, what questions are asked etc?
If I were you I would find ways to be
useful in very practical ways to people in Tower hamlets and gradually
earn the right to be trusted. I would find out the questions that people
in Tower Hamlets want answered and I would seek for ways to support them
in getting answers.
In so far as you do read in advance I
would suggest this should be to problemetise the project in which you
are engaged: I would suggest the following reading as priority reading
in that regard:
Ian Parker (2005) Qualitative
Psychology: Introducing Radical Research, Buckingham: Open University
Press. isbn: 0-335-21349-9
Linda Tuhiwai Smith (1999) Decolonizing
Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples Zed Books isbn
1856496244
Derek Hook (ed.), with Mkhize, N.
Kiguwa, P. and Collins, A. (section eds) and Burman, E. and Parker, I.
(consulting eds) Critical Psychology2004, Cape Town: UCT Press. isbn:
1-91971-388-3
David
David Fryer
Community Psychology Group
University of Stirling
FK9 4LA
Scotland
+44 (0) 1786 467650 (tel)
+44 (0) 1786 467641 (fax)
[log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: The UK Community Psychology
Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Deborah Chinn
Sent: 04 July 2006 10:44 pm
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [COMMUNITYPSYCHUK] what do
people want?
Dear All
We (some PCT psychologists) have got
some funding to find out from people in Tower Hamlets in the East End of
London what they think are the important things that impact on their
health and wellbeing, and conversely, what might get in the way of good
physical and mental health. The starting point for this study were
worries from primary health staff, mainly health visitors and district
nurses, that there were quite a few people who didn't find seem to find
health professionals' current approaches or interventions very helpful.
We are going to have to think carefully about issues of race/culture in
the design and focus of the study, as Tower Hamlets is a very ethnically
diverse borough with 30% of the population identified as Bangladeshi.
Does anyone know of any similar work, or
maybe someone has conducted a similar study? Any ideas or suggestions
would be gratefully received.
Many thanks
Deborah Chinn
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Petra M Boynton, PhD
Lecturer in Health Services Research
Department Primary Care and Population
Sciences, UCL.
Open Learning Unit, Archway Campus
4th Floor, Holborn Union Building,
Highgate Hill
London, N19 5LW.
Tel: 0207 288 3325 Mob: 07967
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The Research Companion Messageboard -
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<http://www.psypress.co.uk/boynton>
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--
The University of Stirling is a
university established in Scotland by charter at Stirling, FK9 4LA.
Privileged/Confidential Information may be contained in this message. If
you are not the addressee indicated in this message (or responsible for
delivery of the message to such person), you may not disclose, copy or
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taken in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful. In such
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Petra M Boynton, PhD
Lecturer in Health Services Research
Department Primary Care and Population Sciences,
UCL.
Open Learning Unit, Archway Campus
4th Floor, Holborn Union Building, Highgate Hill
London, N19 5LW.
Tel: 0207 288 3325 Mob: 07967 212925
The Research Companion Messageboard - share your
experiences and get support here! www.psypress.co.uk/boynton
<http://www.psypress.co.uk/boynton>
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