PhD/PsyD Community psychology criticism?

[InfoNerd101]

How does community psychology differ from social work?

And why does this subspecialty of psychology receive much criticism from other areas of psychology?

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[erg923]

How does community psychology differ from social work?

And why does this subspecialty of psychology receive much criticism from other areas of psychology?

Because it is psychology and not social work (different theories, paradigms, etc).

I am not aware that is does/has. Evidence?

 

[WisNeuro]

As someone who went to grad school with a community psych program, never saw the criticism.

 

[deleted343839]

I haven't heard much criticism of the field at large either. Community psychology may not be as hot an area as it was in years past, but I think that's due partly to the kind of research that has become more incentivized over time. I also wonder if the growth of academic social work and the "behavioral science" branch of public health have made community psych-related topics more multidisciplinary.

 

[InfoNerd101]

Because it is psychology and not social work (different theories, paradigms, etc).

I am not aware that is does/has. Evidence?

Well I heard the reason that they receive criticism is because they don't focus on the individual themselves like other areas of psychology but rather focus on the larger systems/ society which critics say isn't the focus of psychology... I just don't understand why that makes a difference.

 

[InfoNerd101]

As someone who went to grad school with a community psych program, never saw the criticism.

Well I heard the reason that they receive criticism is because they don't focus on the individual themselves like other areas of psychology but rather focus on the larger systems/ society which critics say isn't the focus of psychology... I just don't understand why that makes a difference.

 

[WisNeuro]

Well I heard the reason that they receive criticism is because they don't focus on the individual themselves like other areas of psychology but rather focus on the larger systems/ society which critics say isn't the focus of psychology... I just don't understand why that makes a difference.

Haven't heard the criticism, personally.

 

[sameas]

I'm surprised anyone's heard of community psychology let alone criticize it. There are only a handful of programs left in the country. Community psychology is a discipline that understands individuals and groups in larger systems and environments. Clinical, I/O, and social psych have similar ideas, so there's a great deal of overlap. Criticizing community b/c it focuses on environment/systems rather than the individual seems odd to me. It's good psych has different traditions else there would be needless redundancy.

Social work tends to be more clinical, but there's overlap in the disciplines--although I'm not sure how much interdisciplinary collaboration goes on. I worked with a social worker who was a data analyst. She and I had almost identical backgrounds, except I took more advanced statistics classes and conducted original research for my thesis. Social work students are more constrained by clinical requirements and have less time to do research.

Community psych doesn't offer a clear career path and academia is a crapshoot. I'm not sure how they've modernized the curriculum, but I wasn't taught "big data" methods that are mandatory today. I had a strong grounding in advanced statistics, but I wish I learned basic programming like SQL.

 

[erg923]

Well I heard the reason that they receive criticism is because they don't focus on the individual themselves like other areas of psychology but rather focus on the larger systems/ society which critics say isn't the focus of psychology... I just don't understand why that makes a difference.

Who's "they" ?

I fail it see why this is a bad thing.

 

[SLB-CO]

Community Psych is close to the macro (rather than clinical) side of Social Work, but tends to be much more empirically focused. Even master's-level practitioners of CP seem (to me) to be more steeped in research than their MSW counterparts (and the field claims this as well, as one of their core values). I wonder, OP, if you have heard such critiques from undergraduates? I am in a joint clinical-community PhD program, but our undergrad program does not have strong CP focus, and I have found that teaching intro to CP has really shattered the world view of some (particularly bio-focused) psych majors, as they simply haven't spent much time considering that psychology can take a more systems stance. I'm happy to pass on readings I use and class materials if you PM me, as I find myself frequently making comparisons back to other specialties within psychology. Now, I will say that I actually find CP more critical of clinical than the other way around, particularly given that CP rose out of a dissatisfaction with clinical psych and especially the medical model (you'd find the same with say liberation psychology against social psychology in Latin America). CP is also an inherently interdisciplinary field, and welcomes those outside of it to be part of the discipline; this call for divergent thinking is both a blessing to the field, but also a curse as CP doesn't establish the strong boundaries of other fields. Because of this, as MamaPhD points out, the career paths of CPs are not as streamlined as one might anticipate in other sub-disciplines; however, they are diverse, ranging from applied research to evaluation to policy to teaching to practice (often consultation, coalition-building, etc.). In the CP world, it seems to me, it is more about educating your employer on what skills you bring to the table and why you fit as opposed to your degree speaking for itself.

 

[InfoNerd101]

Who's "they" ?

I fail it see why this is a bad thing.

They as in the community psychologists receive criticism from other psychologists.

 

[erg923]

They as in the community psychologists receive criticism from other psychologists.

Where?

 

[Ollie123]

Haven't ever heard any serious criticisms of community psychology. Had limited exposure to it until internship, but I had a secondary placement doing work with what was essentially a community psych division throughout my internship year. Criticizing it for being systems-focused would seem...silly. Its like criticizing public health for not being microbiology. Its certainly "different" from a traditional clinical program, but that's not a bad thing on its own - it just depends what you want to do. We had some interesting discussions about our respective fields (my research is very neuroscience-heavy) and how they tend to ignore one another despite profound overlap.

I agree its probably harder to get funding from NIH as a community psychologist (at least right now). Its potentially easier to get funding from other organizations. The path is somewhat less clear, but I'd actually argue they have more options and are potentially better-positioned for the direction the field is heading than a great many traditional clinical programs. Again - just depends what you want to do.

 

[deleted343839]

Now, I will say that I actually find CP more critical of clinical than the other way around, particularly given that CP rose out of a dissatisfaction with clinical psych and especially the medical model (you'd find the same with say liberation psychology against social psychology in Latin America).

Good point. Community psychology is a critical discipline in many respects. I don't see the field under attack from others. At worst, CP is ignored/overlooked in mainstream clinical psychology.

 

[Justanothergrad]

Well I heard the reason that they receive criticism is because they don't focus on the individual themselves like other areas of psychology but rather focus on the larger systems/ society which critics say isn't the focus of psychology... I just don't understand why that makes a difference.

Seems a foolish 'criticism' given social psychology and even the social justice push of some of the applied fields like counseling psych.

 

[docma]

Community Psych is close to the macro (rather than clinical) side of Social Work, but tends to be much more empirically focused. Even master's-level practitioners of CP seem (to me) to be more steeped in research than their MSW counterparts (and the field claims this as well, as one of their core values). I wonder, OP, if you have heard such critiques from undergraduates? I am in a joint clinical-community PhD program, but our undergrad program does not have strong CP focus, and I have found that teaching intro to CP has really shattered the world view of some (particularly bio-focused) psych majors, as they simply haven't spent much time considering that psychology can take a more systems stance. I'm happy to pass on readings I use and class materials if you PM me, as I find myself frequently making comparisons back to other specialties within psychology. Now, I will say that I actually find CP more critical of clinical than the other way around, particularly given that CP rose out of a dissatisfaction with clinical psych and especially the medical model (you'd find the same with say liberation psychology against social psychology in Latin America). CP is also an inherently interdisciplinary field, and welcomes those outside of it to be part of the discipline; this call for divergent thinking is both a blessing to the field, but also a curse as CP doesn't establish the strong boundaries of other fields. Because of this, as MamaPhD points out, the career paths of CPs are not as streamlined as one might anticipate in other sub-disciplines; however, they are diverse, ranging from applied research to evaluation to policy to teaching to practice (often consultation, coalition-building, etc.). In the CP world, it seems to me, it is more about educating your employer on what skills you bring to the table and why you fit as opposed to your degree speaking for itself.

I'd be interested in the readings you offer, especially about the comparisons, as I am trying to introduce better understanding of community psych perspectives in training in a CMHC--but I have to admit I don't know how to PM through SDN...Can you give me a clue? (cyber-slow elder here)....

 

[SLB-CO]

I'd be interested in the readings you offer, especially about the comparisons, as I am trying to introduce better understanding of community psych perspectives in training in a CMHC--but I have to admit I don't know how to PM through SDN...Can you give me a clue? (cyber-slow elder here)....

Sure thing! I'll message you.

 

[SLB-CO]

Ack, for some reason I can't seem to get it to work either (technologically-challenged as well)! Someone help? I'm attaching a nice primer to this post that explains the differences between CP and related fields along with career paths. It also has some great suggested readings at the bottom.

 

[SLB-CO]

It didn't attach. Let me try this again.

 

[docma]

It didn't attach. Let me try this again.

Thanks. This is a really great overview and I appreciate having it.

 

[SLB-CO]

Thanks. This is a really great overview and I appreciate having it.

You're welcome!

 

[smalltownpsych]

I used to make fun of my community psych professor in undergrad but that was more of a personal thing than content. Just kidding I actually enjoyed that class immensely. Seriously though, I have never heard of criticisms of any area of psych by any psychologists, except for some of the old CBT vs psychodynamic stuff.