issue 1 09 - APS Member Groups - Australian Psychological Society

New Paradigms in Health Psychology106political and psychological factors interact toimpact upon health. Once aware of inhibitingenvironmental influences, new biology positsthat the human mind has the capacity torenegotiate and overcome these by changingthe way it perceives, constructs and interactswith the environment. Thus these scientificinsights could be incorporated into criticalconsciousness programs or at the very leastadd a new dimension to health comprehensionin community wellness programs(Prilleltensky, 2003). If incorporated into theSPECS model, the empowering nature of thesediscoveries has serious ramifications for thetemporal and ecological domains by furtheringthe likelihood of illness prevention. Theparticipation and capabilities domains wouldalso be significantly affected by the idea thatthrough educated cognitive mediation ofenvironmental influences, the individual canbecome the ultimate constructor of their healthand their reality, dramatically increasing levelsof personal affirmation, strengths and voice.While it may seem new biology and otherconsciousness raising information is of littlepractical value to third world countries andoffers no visible betterment to concretesituations, the access to the empoweringknowledge itself is actually an extremelyimportant change in the environment, creatingpositive repercussions of its own.However it is important to keep in mindthat the path towards liberation is far fromlinear, it is a process and not a state. AsPrilleltensky (2003) observes, the professionalhelper is geared toward amelioration, and thesmooth running of institutions, while thecritical change agent is focused ontransformation, liberation and theconfrontation of unjust practices. If wellbeingand liberation are to emerge these roles need tobe collaborative, and this requires peopleworking inside the system as much asquestioning it, specialised knowledge as muchas political knowledge and ameliorativetherapies as much as social change. Perhapsunder this definition of professional criticalpraxis, alterative health modalities and evenbroader conceptions of health andwellbeing, such as those implicit in newbiology may come to be accepted andeventually wield some positive influence inthe agenda for social justice.A great example of the potential ofsuch reflexive and synergistic practice is theidea of establishing in mainstreaminstitutions, community wellness groupswhere citizens afflicted by similar medicalailments can discuss the social origins oftheir problems and have an opportunity toinstigate meaningful social change. Thefocus of these groups is on how to empowercommunity members to combat oppressivesocietal conditions, so citizens experiencenot only traditional ameliorative treatment,but also the positive effects of being part ofa transformational process (Prilleltensky,2003). There is a gradual decoding of theindividual’s world as the mechanisms ofoppression and dehumanisation are grasped.Such programs, corresponding to the SPECSparticipation and capabilities domains,would institutionalise critical consciousnessprograms, undermining the dominance ofthe medical model and thus helping to deprofessionalise health and wellness. Thesocially critical nature of such questioningwould also contribute to the accountabilityof mainstream institutions towardsoppressed and marginalised groups.Ultimately this type oftransformational approach requires an effortto understand local struggle and selfliberationwithin a wider societal and globalperspective. Murray and Campbell (2003)believe all health professionals need toconsider themselves as participants in abroader movement for social change and theeradication of poverty, to move from theposition of the detached observer to that ofthe socially committed. Human rights andan active participatory citizenship arefoundational to community developmentand wellbeing, and in order to combat war,The Australian Community Psychologist Volume 21 No 1 June 2009