Hi there,
I think any confussion is mostly a matter of context really! In Aus/NZ
(where I trained as a community psycholgist myself) there is a clear
distinction between clincial and community psych, both in teaching and
practice. In the US people often undertake joint community AND clinical
training. Here in the UK, as you know, the group of us called community
psychologists is mostly made up of people who practice clinically and that
influences what CP means here. As for that word critical, and critical
community psychology... it is turning into a bit of a bugbear of mine to be
honest!
As a community psychologist I try to build on a sense of a values based
community psychology, of which being critical is PART of. I think we could
reposition the 'critical' perspective to being one of CP's values (as
opposed to being part of a blanket label), one that exists along a range of
tensions with the many other values. I think the idea of 'critical
community psych' has diffused some of the core identify of community
psychology in the UK (and maybe opened up a debating ground where we try to
narrow down our range of persepctives as opposed to broadening our debates
to consider a greater variety of positions) I think it is time to find talk
about how we can be critical as one of our many values, and bring back other
values into focus (collaboration, diversity, context, practice/praxis) that
foster respectful interactions which might just make space for growing
knowledge rather than narrowing it down into one dominant view. Any
anyway... isn't the invention of a new discipline, 'CCP' a sort of
patriarchial academic exercise that is more about owning knowledge that
building knowledge?
As critical views are gaining ground I feel we are loosing space to be able
to talk about our practice as community psychologists through being
constantly positioned as critically problematic. For me, my practice is
mostly in a research setting, for many of our colleagues it is in clinical
settings, but there are unlimited ways in which to practice as a community
psychologist. My practice is imperfect, infused with all the tensions of
having a values based view of community psych (including being critical,
which exists in tension with other values that are just as important to me)
and tries to make space for 'doing better' rather than rest in a state in
inaction waiting for what is considered critically worthwhile. I was at a
workshop a few months ago where the speaker said, in response to the way
community interventions often fail to address material distress (one of our
major concerns), 'don't let the great become the enemy of the good'. I
think I would like to see a more participative space open up that lets us
talk about that idea.
My point of view is probably some strange hybrid of my Aotearoa/New Zealand
roots and how I've been influenced by being in the UK for a pretty long
time! But I think I would welcome some discussion on where that concept of
critical fits with us!
Rebekah
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