Community psychology: A bridge for psychotherapy and social justice

Hadjiosif, Miltos

Abstract

Community psychology is a recently re-invigorated branch of applied psychology that challenges psychology’s heretofore claims to political neutrality. Community psychologists work in diverse settings and are sensitised by a social justice agenda that seeks to promote equality and highlight the detrimental effects of structural inequality, oppression and persecution on mental health. In this brief introduction I will bring forth examples of Foucauldian deconstruction to illustrate the importance of discourse in maintaining regimes of oppression. We will then consider how the ‘Politics of Affect’ constitute a dangerous terrain that threatens to derail the healing power of psychotherapy. In conclusion, I will draw our attention to two important and uncomfortable questions that might be useful to bear in mind for the remainder of this day. Firstly, is psychotherapy a desired intervention by some of the most marginalised groups within society? And secondly, are psychotherapists sufficiently equipped to attend to global inequalities as they manifest at a local level?

• Presentation Conference Type: Keynote
• Conference Name: CONFER - Working with the unseen
• Start Date: Jan 21, 2017
• End Date: Jan 21, 2017
• Deposit Date: Jun 29, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 29, 2022
• Keywords: Community psychology; politics of affect; political neutrality; politics; Community; psychotherapy; social justice
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/9665009
• Publisher URL: https://www.confer.uk.com/
• Additional Information: Invited paper