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Can't have one without the other: Mental health providers and community parents reducing barriers to services for families in urban poverty
Author(s) -
Frazier Stacy L.,
AbdulAdil Jaleel,
Atkins Marc S.,
Gathright Tamara,
Jackson Maudette
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/jcop.20157
Subject(s) - general partnership , mental health , poverty , cornerstone , service provider , service delivery framework , service (business) , mental health service , nursing , psychology , public relations , medical education , medicine , political science , psychiatry , business , art , marketing , law , visual arts
University–community partnerships are widely recognized as critical to the success of community research and advocacy work but difficult to form and sustain. This article will describe a unique facet of that partnership, namely the collaboration between mental health clinicians and community consultants, a partnership that our data suggest was a cornerstone of our school‐based mental health service program called PALS, an ecological model designed to engage African American families living in urban poor communities in mental health services. The service model was designed to promote children's learning and positive behavior through supporting teachers and encouraging parental involvement in school. In PALS, parent representatives from the community and clinicians from the university worked together in school‐based teams to support children, families, and teachers. This article will discuss the evolution of our clinician–consultant partnership and several lessons that emerged regarding the incorporation of community members into the world of academia, research, and mental health service delivery. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 35: 435–446, 2007.