issue 1 09 - APS Member Groups - Australian Psychological Society

Giving Psychology Away77experts use their power to bring change to lesspowerfuland supposedly less-knowledgeableclientele, often with catastrophic results(Prilleltensky, 2008). Further, the Westernconception of empowerment tends to beindividualistic and has different implications incollectivist societies (Jewell, 2007). Maton(2008) has explored the role that communitypsychologists can play in helping to createempowering settings, which in turn increaseempowerment in individual members of thecommunity and bring about lasting socialchange.While empowerment has been discussedextensively, community psychology is stillsearch for better definitions of power itself(Fisher & Sonn, 2007). Prilleltensky (2008)defined power as the ability and opportunityone has to influence their life, including thepower to pursue a good life, the power tooppress others, and the power to resistoppression. Yet some have criticised this viewas too focused on the needs and abilities of theindividual, preferring to describe power as afunction of large social systems within whichindividuals reside (Fryer, 2008b; Smail, 2001).Despite its definition, communitypsychologists are innately interested inexposing the complex nature of power and theeffects that inequitable power distributionshave on communities and individuals (Fisher,Sonn, & Evans, 2007).Another way of conceptualising theimperative to “Think Upside Down” is thedichotomy of oppression and liberation.Oppression concerns an asymmetric powerrelationship between dominant and subordinategroups. Liberation psychology is a conceptmost developed in Latin America which seekssocial change for marginalised groups,challenging the political system in the process.Watkins and Schulman (2008) write ofliberation psychology as a shift in thinkingfrom the individual to the community. Theysuggest that the work of liberation is amending of the “torn fabric ofinterdependence” (p. 77). One group appliedthe liberation model to their work in both theUnited States and Nigeria, discovering thepositive change that can rise from smallempowering communities (Trout, Dokecki,Newbrough, & O’Gorman, 2003).The “upside-down” approach has workedits way into the applied practice of communitypsychology. Many applied communitypsychologists work with communities andorganisations around the world to producegrassroots, bottom-up change. Social action isone tool used to challenge powerful interests bythe involvement of citizens. Further, thisemphasis on participatory efforts has opened upwhole new arenas for the work of psychologistsand for help-seeking individuals. Nowhere isthis more clearly seen than in the proliferationof mutual help groups. Based on FrankRiessman’s (1990) helper therapy principle,these groups are places where people who needhelp “function as producers of help” (p. 221).Community psychologists have been intimatelyinvolved in the research and implementation ofthese groups, a trend which may continue toincrease (Brown, Shepherd, Wituk, & Meissen,2008).Think Long-TermThe requirement to Think Upside Downturns power on its head through several meansincluding empowerment and social action. Thisemphasis requires a second shift in thinking thatis prominent in community psychology: ThinkLong-Term. While we often face urgentchallenges, community psychology holds astrong value in the way these problems areresolved. The “upside down” approach requiresthe involvement of more people and inevitablytakes more time (Putnam, Feldstein & Cohen,2003). Yet, for sustainable change to occur onemust think about how the community will farelong after the project at hand has come to anend. Thinking long-term humbly acknowledgesthat what seems like the right solution todaymay very well be responsible for futureproblems (Levine & Perkins, 1997).Collaboration and citizen participation aretwo often used practices. CollaborativeThe Australian Community Psychologist Volume 21 No 1 June 2009