I wonder, out of the 5 (?) UK Critical and Community Psychology conferences, 
how many of the total number of organisers have been clinical psychologists? 
I was involved organising the 3rd conference in Birmingham which was 
organised, with the exception of one counselling psychologist, by clinical 
psychologists, all belonging to the West Mids Critical and Community 
Psychology Interest Group.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Paul@home" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2005 7:59 PM
Subject: Re: [COMMUNITYPSYCHUK] On the subject of conferences...


> My extended response to some recent emails:
>
> Nice to see you contributing to the discussion David S! Sorry, but I use 
> the
> term 'being critical' rather than 'problematizing' and I see criticality 
> as
> a virtue where I work (university), particularly as this year some of our
> psychology students have to take a mandatory course on 'learning and
> employability' (New Labour has not only landed in academia, it taking up
> roots!!). It is increasingly difficult to be critical in higher education,
> some of us our facing threats, bullying and abuse for being critical. For 
> me
> it would be a shame for the com psy network to be a place where we were
> discouraged from being critcal also.
>
> I really admire Tony Benn but I didn't vote labour last time and won't 
> next.
> Tony Benn has minimal if any influence over the Labour Party. If I had 
> ever
> joined the Labour Party, I am sure that I would have left under Tony 
> Blair's
> stewardship irrespective of Tony Benn's decision to stay on.
>
> I have met and communicated with students on clinical psychology training
> programmes who are either being crushed by the dominant clinical training
> system which gives them little or no room to think community 
> psychologically
> on their courses (results in any community psychology they receive being
> less a life line but more the glare of the spotlight from the prison 
> guards
> as they attempt their escape from mainstream clinical practice) to those
> students who are being crushed directly by their community psychology
> clinical supervisors. I don't just think this is a problem on the clinical
> psy training progs alone. For those of us who teach psychology, we often
> forget the brutalising system that we are a part of and that much of what 
> we
> do does the work of the system, as much as we think it doesn't. You cannot
> be a community educationalist in a university setting. I could actually 
> name
> the names of the community psychologists in the education system who are
> crushing psychology students in this way. It is deeply unprofessional of 
> me
> to do so, but what the heck. I will be the first (public) whistle blower.
> The first one I want to name and shame is Paul Duckett at Manchester
> Metropolitan University.
>
> Back to clinical psychology. Clinical Psychology isn't just an arbitrary
> label, it is a powerful social signifier that conveys status, power and
> authority and conveys privileges. For those of you who are clinical
> psychologists, you may not recognise it, but a fish may not be aware of 
> the
> water in which it swims - take it out of the water, and it soon will! For
> me, David F's comments were like grabbing the tales of clinical
> psychologists and threatening to take them out the goldfish bowl. The
> reaction from the clinical psychologists among us was, I am sad to say,
> fairly predictable.
>
> Clinical psychology has been one of the most prized identities within the
> discipline of psychology and every year I watch psychology students get
> brutalised in the awful scramble to secure a place on a clinical training
> course (only one or two are ever successful) and every year I see doctoral
> students brutalised as they scratch and claw in their attempts to keep on
> their clinical training place. Let's not forget that. And let's not forget
> that to keep a hold on the title of 'clinical psychologist' is much more
> than an arbitrary decision. It is a bit like the use of the title "Docor"
> more broadly. When I use the title "Dr" It affords me many privileges (a
> nice table in the restuarant, flight upgrades, unusual levels of patience
> and courtesy from my bank manager and so on and so forth - that is until
> they discover I am not a 'real' doctor). Notice, I still need to let you
> know that I am a doctor, so that I retain the power identify even when I
> seem to be giving it up: ie.
>
> P: 'Please don't call me doctor, I prefer you just call me paul
> CPUK: 'Wot? I never knew you were a doctor, wow!'
> Paul: 'Yes, well, I don't really like to talk about it ... you know ...
> being a doctor and everything .... I hardly ever like to mention that I am 
> a
> doctor ..... I get so embarrassed when the waiter shouts out "Hey, Doctor
> Duckett, your table is ready". Gosh, I get sooooo embarrassed. Why can't 
> we
> just all be equals? I just hate those social hierachies. So does my friend
> Dr Fryer, by the way.'
>
> For some, particularly those who have survived the psychiatric system,
> clinical psychology is also a signify of the most appauling oppression and
> cruelty. Sure, you can be a community psychologist who works in clinical
> psychology. Same as you can be a vegetarian who happens to work in an
> abattoir. That is fine. In both instances you may carry a sick bag with 
> you
> to work as you will probably want to vomit at most things you see 
> happening
> around you and some of the things you are asked to do yourself. Also, 
> don't
> be surprised if when I invite you to one of my vegetarian candle lit
> suppers, I politely ask you not to talk in detail about what you do for a
> living as it might put some of my other dinner guests off their food. 
> Note,
> I also feel the same could be said of survivors of the education system 
> and
> working as a community psychologist in academia.
>
> In relation to Mark B's comments, The Rotary Club is a voluntary
> organisation. That doesn't mean that we should refrain from being critical
> as to their activities from time to time. The Hitler Youth began as a
> voluntary organisation. I could give many more examples, but I won't. I
> think I have made my point. Philanthropy is no protection from critical
> scrutiny. The European Community Psychology Network would dive for cover
> from critical scrutiny using the same rationale of philanthropy. If
> anything, we should focus our critical gaze more attentively as the vested
> interests of the philanthropists may be more difficult to discern if we
> cannot see the immediate monetary gain they are securing. This is not a
> personal attack on colleagues from Great Yarmouth or those CPUK members 
> who
> are clinical and proud. These are my critical commentaries on the 
> arguments
> and discourses circulating in recent CPUK emails.
>
> regards
>
> paul
>
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