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A social historical note on the formal emergence of community psychology
Author(s) -
Walsh Richard T.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
american journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.113
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1573-2770
pISSN - 0091-0562
DOI - 10.1007/bf00929906
Subject(s) - community psychology , health psychology , history of psychology , idealism , ideology , context (archaeology) , mental health , sociology , unrest , social science , public health , social environment , criminology , psychology , social psychology , political science , epistemology , medicine , psychiatry , psychoanalysis , politics , law , history , nursing , philosophy , archaeology
Recent interviews of 15 eminent community psychologists, 6 of whom attended the founding conference at Swampscott, highlighted some historically significant aspects of community psychology's emergence and provided background information concerning the conference's processes and content. The interview informants described the idealism of the era in the context of societal unrest, the struggle with psychiatrists' control of extant mental health services, and the uncertain role of a community orientation within academic psychology as key social historical factors. The informants identified some of the behind-the-scenes preparations for Swampscott as well as the conference climate and emergent ideology. The report concludes with a note on the historical status of women in the subdiscipline.