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A lot of movements that are seen as radical and ground breaking are not new - as I get older I recognise this more and more. When I was interviewed for my previous post in 1995 I was interviewed by service users, and the project's volunteers, as well as staff. In the early 80s i lived in a group home for people with learning difficulties and the people in the home were ultimately responsible for every decision made - from budgets to staff recruitment. When I was a child in the 60s I remember there was a local commune, who made big inflatable objects they brought around for the kids to play on ,and they even showed movies inside of them. I think that maybe none of it is new, and things like this have always happened. I came back to psychology after over 20 years 'elsewhere' and as part of that process I have spent the last few years trying to figure out what is unique about what psychology offers. I have come to the conclusion there is not anything unique, and to claim a level of uniqueness would no doubt upset other community activists or members. We are just in the mix, like everyone else, and maybe what is unique is what we offer as individuals. I feel a group of people who are all the same would not be a very creative force, and from discussion on this list I don't think there exists one set of community psychology values, which is a good thing! Rachel ________________________________ From: The UK Community Psychology Discussion List [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of CRAIG NEWNES [[log in to unmask]] Sent: 22 August 2010 13:59 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [COMMUNITYPSYCHUK] Streetbank "I feel able to challenge some practices and assumptions within the committee and offer a distinct perspective, for example, on the potential for service user and staff involvement in decision making, etc." In terms of "skills" I think this discussion highlights what people think of as psychological skill. The example above seems to me to be about inclusiveness and democracy rather than psychology. For years before anyone else did it Shropshire employed service users as consultants to a variety of roles (eg interviewing professionals, research etc). This was not about psychology - it was about recognising that almost anyone with a link to the service would have something useful to say and they should be paid for saying it. Similarly, my partner brought much need diplomacy and committee skills to our local play-group. She works as a communiuty psychologist but, again, the skills she brought to the committee were about experience and the support of others around her rather than "psychology". For example, she never once knowingly applied her reading of Group Psychology to the meetings - it was invariably her ability to make great cakes that was really appreciated. Likewise, I have seen discusion of "Communiuty psychology Values" on the list, often in referencve to the BPS adventure - what are these? In what way do they differ from Judeo-Christian values/Marxist tenets/cultural mores etc? And is the declaration of a "value" any indication of how the speaker actually conducts his or her life? C --- On Sun, 22/8/10, Wendy Franks <[log in to unmask]> wrote: From: Wendy Franks <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: [COMMUNITYPSYCHUK] Streetbank To: [log in to unmask] Date: Sunday, 22 August, 2010, 12:07 Thanks for this Abdullah, I've signed up too, and like Jacqui, I thought that there is stuff I'd be prepared to help with/lend/give away other than psychology. I already volunteer, work, and study within the community psychology world, and I'm not sure that I have lots of extra energy for much more of the same. I wonder if lots of us already feel a bit over-committed? From previous conversations, I know I'm not the only one! For me, I often see opportunities to get involved in other stuff that's going on locally, and find I have to prioritise and be careful not to over-extend myself beyond what's actually sustainable in the long term. I haven't found that it helps anyone to promise things that I can't deliver or commit to in the long term. I certainly feel that there are lots of opportunities to bring community psychology ideas and skills to volunteer work. For example, I volunteer as a trustee on the management committee of a charity, and although some of the committee work doesn't suit me, I have brought something different and valuable to the other members of the committee. I feel able to challenge some practices and assumptions within the committee and offer a distinct perspective, for example, on the potential for service user and staff involvement in decision making, etc. Do others feel they have psychology 'stuff' to give away in a community like Streetbank? I'd also be interested to hear how others might approach a challenge like this. Best wishes, Wendy ________________________________ From: Abdullah Mia <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Sunday, 22 August, 2010 11:09:05 Subject: [COMMUNITYPSYCHUK] Streetbank Hi all, A friend of mine introduced me to this site http://www.streetbank.com/ and it got me thinking about what would be possible as 'psychologists' to give away in terms of skills. For me it also made me question what psychology (be it community or other) actually brings to the community, could we or are we able to share our psychological skills in this way? Here are my views on the other recent posts; Sally, I presume the AM who abstained was a reference to me, and that is correct. Thank you for the summary. David, I like Annie's ideas about a generic reply to those who wish to recruit highlighting the nature of feedback they may receive whilst not receiving many participants. Regards Abdullah ___________________________________ The Community Psychology List has a new website/blog at: http://www.communitypsychology.co.uk/ There is a threaded discussion forum: http://www.communitypsychology.co.uk/cgi-bin/discus/discus.cgi There is a twitter feed: http://twitter.com/CommPsychUK To post on the website blog, forum or twitter feed, contact Grant or David at the email addresses below. David Fryer ([log in to unmask]<http:[log in to unmask]>) or Grant Jeffrey ([log in to unmask]<http:[log in to unmask]>) To unsubscribe or to change your details on this COMMUNITYPSYCHUK list, visit the website: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=COMMUNITYPSYCHUK ___________________________________ The Community Psychology List has a new website/blog at: http://www.communitypsychology.co.uk/ There is a threaded discussion forum: http://www.communitypsychology.co.uk/cgi-bin/discus/discus.cgi There is a twitter feed: http://twitter.com/CommPsychUK To post on the website blog, forum or twitter feed, contact Grant or David at the email addresses below. David Fryer ([log in to unmask]<http:[log in to unmask]>) or Grant Jeffrey ([log in to unmask]<http:[log in to unmask]>) To unsubscribe or to change your details on this COMMUNITYPSYCHUK list, visit the website: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=COMMUNITYPSYCHUK ___________________________________ The Community Psychology List has a new website/blog at: http://www.communitypsychology.co.uk/ There is a threaded discussion forum: http://www.communitypsychology.co.uk/cgi-bin/discus/discus.cgi There is a twitter feed: http://twitter.com/CommPsychUK To post on the website blog, forum or twitter feed, contact Grant or David at the email addresses below. David Fryer ([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>) or Grant Jeffrey ([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>) To unsubscribe or to change your details on this COMMUNITYPSYCHUK list, visit the website: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=COMMUNITYPSYCHUK ___________________________________ The Community Psychology List has a new website/blog at: http://www.communitypsychology.co.uk/ There is a threaded discussion forum: http://www.communitypsychology.co.uk/cgi-bin/discus/discus.cgi There is a twitter feed: http://twitter.com/CommPsychUK To post on the website blog, forum or twitter feed, contact Grant or David at the email addresses below. David Fryer ([log in to unmask]) or Grant Jeffrey ([log in to unmask]) To unsubscribe or to change your details on this COMMUNITYPSYCHUK list, visit the website: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=COMMUNITYPSYCHUK