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COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY AND CIVIL SOCIETY: OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH IN EGYPT AND LEBANON
Author(s) -
Amer Mona M.,
ElSayeh Salma,
Fayad Yasmine,
Khoury Brigitte
Publication year - 2015
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.21688
Subject(s) - community psychology , poverty , civil society , perspective (graphical) , refugee , political science , community development , work (physics) , public relations , sociology , economic growth , social science , psychology , social psychology , law , politics , mechanical engineering , artificial intelligence , computer science , economics , engineering
Western theories and products, focused mostly on the individual level of analysis, inform psychology in Egypt and Lebanon. Psychologists in these nations have not yet played a significant role in addressing systemic community priorities, such as poverty and politically motivated violence. In the absence of community psychology, a vibrant network of civil society organizations has emerged to address urgent national concerns. We discuss and critique three types of civil society efforts that intersect with community psychology values and practice: community development, refugee services, and human rights advocacy. The emerging specialization of community psychology can address limitations of these fields and provide an alternative psychological perspective to community practice. This article examines how Egyptian and Lebanese community psychologies may transpire, including the roles community psychologists can play, values that may be integrated in this work, and considerations for formalizing training programs.