BRINGING TOGETHER THEORY & PRACTICE
A Collaborative Community Psychology Event.
(Combining a UK Community Psychology Network
and a Cambuslang Community Event)
Thursday 21st to Saturday 23rd March 2002
http://www.communityconsultants.supanet.com/CPnetworkconference/
Bringing Together Theory and Practice is an opportunity for UKCP Network members, members of, and workers in, a disadvantaged community and a critical community psychologist of international repute to work together to collaboratively promote community mental health and well being, develop Campus-Community partnership working and engage over a three day period in critical community psychological thinking and practice. The organisers hope that participants will bring a range of experiences, skills, ideas, models of good practice and bodies of evidence together to influence developments to promote a healthier and happier community in Cambuslang whilst simultaneously developing their own understanding of community psychology and building supportive networks for the future.
The Programme
Thursday 21st March: University of Stirling Psychology Department
(Invitees: principally UK CPN members but others welcome too)
10.00 – 11.00 Community Psychology in the UK: a sharing of visions
All
11.00 – 11.30 Coffee
11.30 – 12.30
All (discussion facilitated by Steve McKenna)
12.30 – 14.00 Lunch
14.00 – 17.00 The Future of Community Psychology in the UK
How should we make progress plans?
All
18.00 Professor Isaac Prilleltensky (Visiting BPS Fellow).
Presentation Title: Psychological and Political Well-
Being: Dialectics and Directions.
Abstract: Psychological and political well-being are usually dealt in isolation. However, international studies indicate that the level of political well-being has a positive effect on psychological health well-being. In this presentation I will define psychological and political well-being, show their interconnections, and suggest strategies for promoting personal, interpersonal, and collective well-being. I will argue that we cannot promote psychological welfare in the absence of political action to change structures of oppression. For as long as structures of oppression continue to operate unchallenged, we will continue to experience community, interpersonal, and psychological problems. Following the evidence showing the links between psychological and political welfare, we will be in a position to identify roles for agents of change in the community.
Followed by discussion, drinks and then meal in local
restaurant.
About Isaac:
Isaac Prilleltensky is Research Professor in the Department of Psychology at Victoria University in Melbourne. He is also Director of the Wellness Promotion Unit. He has an interest in critical psychology and in value-based practice in psychology and in the social sciences in general. He is involved in a number of community based projects and in social policy related to well-being and human rights. He founded with Dennis Fox the Radical Psychology Network. Isaac has published about 45 articles in refereed journals, 15 book chapters, contributed 10 terms to a new Dictionary of Psychology, published 8 book reviews, several comments in academic journals, and has given over a 100 presentations in professional meetings. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and of the Society for Community Research and Action. His publications have been cited in over 80 different journals in the social sciences. He has an interest in promoting critical psychology praxis. He is the author of The Morals and Politics of Psychology: Psychological Discourse and the Status Quo (SUNY Press), Co-editor of Critical Psychology (Sage), and of Promoting Child and Family Wellness: Fundamentals for Thinking and Action (University of Toronto Press). He has recently completed with Geoff Nelson a book entitled Doing Psychology Critically: Making a Difference in Diverse Settings (Macmillan). His next book, also in collaboration with Geoff Nelson, will be entitled Critical Community Psychology: In Pursuit of Wellness and Liberation. He can be contacted by electronic mail at isaac.prilleltensky@vu.edu.au.
Friday 22nd March: Conference Suite, Cambuslang Training and Enterprise Centre, 1-5 Main Street, Cambuslang, G72 7EX
(Invitees include UK CPN members, trainers, members of the initiative, agency
members, local ‘players’, community members but other welcome too)
10.00 – 12.00
Sharing Knowledge
Exploring the SEED model
Anne Strachan
Community Profile
Steve Mckenna
Working Groups.
12.30 – 14.00 Lunch
14.00 - 17.00 Vision and values for community mental health and well-being: moving towards action
Workshop facilitated by Isaac Prilleltensky
Discussant: Mark Wilson
Evening Meal and drinks (near Stirling)
Saturday 23rd March: Conference Suite, Cambuslang Training and Enterprise Centre, 1-5 Main Street, Cambuslang, G72 7EX
(Invitees include UK CPN members, trainers, members of the initiative, agency
members, local ‘players’, community members but other welcome too)
Taking the Strain
A community discussion day
Local registration
10.30 – 11.30 Emotional and mental well-being in Cambuslang and
Rutherglen – the community’s view
11.30 Tea / Coffee
11.45 – 12.30
12.30 – 14.00 Buffet Lunch
14.00 - 15.30 Discussion groups
How can we ensure that future work in the area addresses the issues raised by community members?
15.30 – 16.00 Concluding thoughts
David Fryer and Anne Strachan
Background to this meeting
A number of issues have come together to shape this meeting.
Firstly, the UK Community Psychology Network holds occasional national meetings at which those interested in community psychology in the UK can meet to explore common interests, offer each other support, organise for the future etc. The Stirling Group offered to host a network meeting in November 2001 but, for a variety of reasons, this was rescheduled to spring 2002. Communications from Network members have suggested that there are a number of different visions around as to what ‘community psychology’ means and that it would be useful to ask Network members coming to the conference to prepare accounts of their own visions to share. We believe this would form a basis for discussion of how community psychology ‘should’ develop in the UK.
Secondly, critical reflection on previous international community psychology congresses by a number of community psychologists belonging to the Network suggested that CP conferences often reproduce many of the features of our social arrangements seen as problematic by critical community psychologists. It was suggested that consideration should be given to trying to make community psychology meetings more thoroughly community psychological in process as well as in content. In a previous communication with Network members it was suggested we should, through our conferences and meetings as elsewhere in our practice, strive to facilitate a range of stakeholders working together to achieve emancipatory critical understanding of social issues, to challenge oppression and contribute to positive change through working at multiple (including socio-structural) levels. This meeting, with its attempts to bring together community members and activists, professional and non-professional community workers, academics and social scientists, represents an effort attempt to take this recommendation forward in theory and practice.
Thirdly, whilst initially planning the Network event, a range of stakeholders in Cambuslang (a community near Glasgow) began to address issues in relation to mental health and well being in their own community. A Healthy Living Initiative application to fund an infrastructure has now been submitted. Irrespective of whether this particular application is successful, the momentum around the development of this HLI bid provides opportunities for taking ideas and practice forward to promote positive mental health and to prevent distress. The Community Psychology Group at Stirling is being supported by the University of Stirling to trying to promote, through this meeting, Campus-Community partnership working.
Fourthly, a proposal submitted to the British Psychological Society that Professor Isaac Prilleltensky be offered a Visiting Fellowship of the British Psychological Society during 2002 was approved and funding guaranteed. Isaac will be giving a formal presentation at the University of Stirling on his own work in critical community psychology on the Thursday evening. This will be simultaneously be a CCPE / Psychology Department / Faculty of Human Sciences / Public Lecture, which will also bring some minor financial subsidy). Furthermore, Isaac has kindly agreed to attend and contribute to all three days of this collaborative community event.
Making a difference?
The principal aim of the first day is to consolidate and plan to develop community psychology in the UK and in particular the UK CPN.
The principal aim of the second and third days is to understand, reframe, articulate relevant understanding and knowledge, develop solutions and commit to action regarding problems as defined from within the community of Cambuslang. An orienting profile of the communities that make up Cambuslang is being developed in collaboration with relevant stakeholders. This and the Healthy Living Initiative (SEED) will be presented on Friday 22nd as background and community members themselves will present their own perspectives on Saturday 23rd.
Making contributions?
During the day sessions we are trying to avoid distinguishing between ‘talking heads’ and other meeting attenders. We assume that everyone who attends has a valuable contribution to make and in that sense everyone is an ‘invited speaker’ and that there will be no spectators or audience. Exactly how each day is structured will depend on how many people attend and how those people wish to structure the time available. The November meeting was called off due to the small number of people stating an intention to come. So far only a handful of people have indicated an intention to attend the rescheduled meeting. We believe this meeting can achieve much with a small number of committed participants but we hope it will be well attended. Please let us know if you intend to come to this meeting and what you contribution you will offer.
Costs
There is an all-in registration fee of £45. This covers:
Concessions
A daily registration fee of £15, for those able to attend only one or two days, is available.
Free places are available for those who are not employed.
Those attending are expected to pay for their own transport to and from Stirling, pay for their own meals and drinks other than lunch and to arrange their own accommodation. Information about bed and breakfast and hotel accommodation is available by visiting the Stirling online web site:
http://www.stirling.co.uk/index.htmStirling University is located in Bridge of Allan by Stirling. The web site also contains other information about the area. If you do not have access to the Internet please contact Steve or David.
Please let Steve or David know if you are coming:
Steve Mckenna / David Fryer, Community Psychology Group, University of Stirling, FK9 4LA,
Scotland (
steve.mckenna@stir.ac.uk / d.m.fryer@stir.ac.uk )