Industrial Psychology

Community and Health Psychology Course: PYC4811 Assignment Number: 792691

Write an essay in which you critically compare and contrast the community psychology and public health approaches to social problems. The length of the essay should be about three A4 pages typed in double spacing, or about 800 words.

Community Psychology became recognized as a discipline of its own in 1965 at the Swampscot Conference in Boston. George Albee, one of the founders of the discipline, expanded the theory to shift from a focus on mental illness itself to social phenomena that cause mental illness along with complementary preventative measures. Unlike Clinical Psychology, Community Psychology considered the relationship between the individual and the community and aimed to improve quality of life as a whole. Community Psychology grew out of the mental health movement but was inspired by the Public Health Approach, which considerably overlaps as well as compliments the theory. (Tutorial Letter 102, 2013) The Public Health approach was developed as an alternative to Western clinical medicine that focused on illness and cure rather than cause and prevention. The Public Health approach recognized that an individual’s well being was dependent on external circumstances such as family, work and the larger community. It is defined as “the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals.” (Winslow, 1920) Therefore, Community Psychology and the Public Health Approach are both broadly concerned with social problems and their relation to individual well-being. In agreement that prevention is better than cure, both fields look at ways to develop skills and empower the individual through program planning, implementation and evaluation. Within Community Psychology, the mental health model considers developing skills to promote mental...