Issues In Community Psychology And Preventive Mental Health

The understanding of how to reduce risk factors for mental disorders has expanded remarkably as a result of recent scientific advances. This study, mandated by Congress, reviews those advances in the context of current research and provides a targeted definition of prevention and a conceptual framework that emphasizes risk reduction. Highlighting opportunities for and barriers to interventions, the book draws on successful models for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, injuries, and smoking. In addition, it reviews the risk factors associated with Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, alcohol abuse and dependence, depressive disorders, and conduct disorders and evaluates current illustrative prevention programs. The models and examination provide a framework for the design, application, and evaluation of interventions intended to prevent mental disorders and the transfer of knowledge about prevention from research to clinical practice. The book presents a focused research agenda, with recommendations on how to develop effective intervention programs, create a cadre of prevention researchers, and improve coordination among federal agencies.

Despite the growing emphasis on a population-based training and service delivery model for school psychology, few resources exist to provide guidance concerning how such services might be conceptualized and put into place. In this book, the authors propose a public health model for comprehensive children’s mental health services that expands, rather than replaces, the traditional model of school psychology. The background and theoretical perspective for this public health model are discussed as an important way to solve problems and accomplish goals in schools, after which the authors outline and develop a clear, practical procedure for implementing and evaluating programs based on public health ideas. A case study in one elementary school walks readers through the stages of applying a public health model, detailing the key steps of each stage. Finally, the authors consider the changes to the role of school psychologist that will be required to practice a public health problem-solving model. Accompanying downloadable resources contain sample forms, handouts, and other valuable materials that will be of use to school psychologists implementing this public health model in their schools.

Mental health practices and programs around the world face growing criticism from policymakers, consumers, and service providers for being ineffective, overly reliant on treatment by professionals, and overly focused on symptoms. Many have called for new paradigms of mental health and new practices that can better support recovery, community integration, and adaptive functioning for persons diagnosed with psychiatric disabilities. While there has recently been much discourse about transformation and recovery, there has yet to be a critical and systematic review that unpacks the concept of mental health systems transformation or that examines strategies for how to create transformative change in mental health. Community Psychology and Community Mental Health provides empirical justification and a conceptual foundation for transformative change in mental health, based on community psychology values and principles of ecology, collaboration, empowerment, and social justice. Chapters provide strategies for making changes at the level of society, policy, organizations, community settings, and mental health practices. The editors and authors draw from experience in different countries in recognition of the need to tailor change strategies to different contexts. The common experiences of the international perspectives represented underscore the importance and the need for a new paradigm while demonstrating that there are many alternatives and opportunities for pursuing transformative change. This book will be of interest to community mental health professionals, researchers, and students, as well as policymakers, administrators, and those with lived experience of mental health issues.

Here is a unique and important volume that pays tribute to the contributions of the National Mental Health Association to the field of prevention.For more than 80 years, the National Mental Health Association has been a major force in the advancement of the field of prevention. It has pursued an impressive three-pronged mission of promoting health, preventing mental illness, and improving the care and treatment of persons with mental illnesses through advocacy at all levels of state and national government and the development of prevention programs.The National Mental Health Association: Eighty Years of Involvement in the Field of Prevention traces the history of the association’s involvement in prevention back to the first decade of the century. Mental health professionals from Pennsylvania, Michigan, Texas, South Carolina, New York, and Illinois describe some of the diverse activities relating to prevention in which local associations are involved, such as public education, direct intervention, and legislative advocacy. In addition, a large part of the volume is devoted to in-depth descriptions of seven programs of sufficient distinction and merit to have received the association’s prestigious Lela Rowland Prevention Award, which recognizes outstanding prevention programs in the area of mental health.This volume should be read by the hundreds of thousands of Mental Health Association members, as well as community psychologists, social workers, and professionals in mental health centers and state mental health departments.

Community Psychology was the first undergraduate text available that gave students an understanding of the content, approach, and philosophy that characterizes community psychology. It focuses on the importance of and strategies for producing social change and treating community problems with community psychology interventions. The text examines the role of community settings such as the mental health system, the educational system, the criminal justice system, and the social service system, and helps students understand that the principles of prevention and empowerment can be transferred from one community arena to another.

Familiarize yourself with successful prevention programs in mental health centers throughout the country. Prevention in Community Health Centers offers a very positive view of prevention efforts that have flourished in the past several years, despite the lack of federal support. Whether you are currently involved in an established prevention program or your agency is considering upgrading its prevention efforts, this practical volume will provide guidelines and incentives. Learn about the development and management of prevention services within applied settings--a social-problem solving program in a public school system, prevention services within a medical school-based community mental health center, a preventive intervention program for divorced and separated adults organized by a local mental health center and a chapter of Parents Without Partners, and a variety of self-help groups.

Community Psychology, 6th Edition offers an easy-to-navigate, clearly organized, and comprehensive overview of the field, with theoretical roots that carry over to practical applications. Presenting the concepts of community psychology and social change, these concepts are then applied to various systems addressing the human condition: mental health, medical, public health, school, legal, and industrial/organizational. Through a unique three-part approach, including concepts, interventions, and applications of the theory, the book opens the field of community psychology to students who are interested in how psychology might help themselves and the systems around them. It then focuses on the prevention of problems, the promotion of well-being, the empowerment of members within a community, the appreciation of diversity, and an ecological model for the understanding of human behavior. Attention is paid to both "classic" early writings and the most recent journal articles and reviews by today’s practitioners and researchers. Historical and alternative methods of effecting social change are explored in this book, with the overall theme that the environment is as important as the individual in it. This 6th edition will include new topical subjects such as grit and life success, changes in technology and their impact, interventions based on networking, social movements and justice, dealing with stigma, and new models of health. It will appeal to advanced undergraduates as well as graduates taking courses on community psychology, social psychology, clinical psychology, and related fields.