The Community Psychologist

From the President

John Moritsugu (moritsjn@plu.edu)

Pacific Lutheran University

The attraction of community psychology was for me its stated principles of openness to and appreciation of diversity, understanding of behaviors from a contextual perspective, and the empowerment of communities to realize their potentials as a medium for health and growth.

From the Editors
Gregor V. Sarkisian and Sylvie Taylor
Antioch University Los Angeles

This is the final issue for which we will serve as Editors of the TCP. It has been an honor to serve SCRA for the past three years and a wonderful experience. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of the column editors and contributors for providing us with such rich content over the years, and to the SCRA Executive Committees (2012 to present) for their support of our efforts. During our tenure as Editors, we have been part of some significant changes to the TCP, including a redesign to include the SCRA logo, expanding the online PDF archive of past issues on the SCRA website, and the creation of an archive of “Living Community Psychology” columns.

We wish the incoming Editors, Dan Cooper and Tiffany McDowell, the best of luck in taking in their new roles. We know that they will do an excellent job and make TCP even better. We leave you in the strong and capable hands our Publications Committee Chair Meg Bond, the Publications Committee and the SCRA Executive Committee.

Sylvie & Gregor

In Memoriam of George William Fairweather – Keeping Him In The CP Conversation
Written by Kwesi Craig C. Brookins (craig_brookins@ncsu.edu), North Carolina State University

What follows is a personal reflection on the life of George William (Bill) Fairweather. As you will see, Dr.

Fairweather strongly influenced me in multiple ways, and it is a fair encapsulation of his life, there are others who can speak more intimately about him and his contribution. I offer it as one perspective on his community psychology life.

Special Feature

PROGRESS REPORT: COMPETENCIES FOR COMMUNITY RESEARCH AND ACTION

Written by Brian D. Christens, Christian M. Connell, Victoria Faust, Mason G. Haber, and the Council of Education Programs

The field of Community Psychology has long recognized the need for a unique orientation to research –one that promotes interdisciplinary, multi-level, ecological and community-based participatory approaches to scholarly work.

Early Career Interest Group

Edited by Ashlee Lien and Ben Graham

We hope that those of you who attended the 2015 biennial in Lowell had a great experience and a great rest of the summer. The 2015 biennial was an exciting time for the Early Career Interest Group (ECIG). We sponsored a session about our recent ECIG Needs Assessment and co-sponsored a session about supporting marginalized groups during the tenure and promotion process. We also hosted a business meeting in which we discussed future initiatives and leadership of the ECIG. Thank you to everyone who participated in these sessions that will shape the future of the ECIG.

Education Connection

Edited by Carie Forden (cforden@clarion.edu)

We continue the discussion we began in the last Education Connection column on how to provide a deeper level of community psychology training to undergraduate students. The last column focused on three undergraduate Community Psychology programs that offered training beyond the introductory course. The current column, written by a faculty member and two undergraduate students at Winston-Salem State University, focuses on the experience of teaching and taking the introductory community psychology course for the first time. They suggest that the practice competencies of social justice, social change and advocacy, socio-cultural perspectives, and community development be used to frame the design of the introductory course. They argue that the integration of these competencies into the course can better prepare undergraduate students for future careers in community work, for graduate training in community psychology, and for contributing to their own communities.

International

Edited by Kahaema Byer

This issue’s article is written by Agostino Carbone of Naples, Italy. Agostino provides personal reflections on his travel to Greece since 2010, around the time when the economic crisis began to unfold. Since the article’s authorship this past May, major updates have followed. However, the piece provides critical analysis and up close and personal observations from the perspective of a citizen of a neighboring member of the Eurozone, which continue to be important points of reflection.

Regional Update Fall 2015

Edited by Regina Langhout, Regional Network Coordinator, University of California at Santa Cruz (langhout@ucsc.edu)

Self Help and Mutual Support

Edited by Greg Townley and Alicia Lucksted

Impressions of Clubs of Treated Alcoholics in Post-socialist Zagreb, Croatia

Written by Thomasina Borkman (tborkman@gmu.edu), Professor of Sociology Emerita, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA; Affiliate scientist, Alcohol Research Group, Emeryville, CA

Student Issues

Edited by Sarah Callahan and Meagan Sweeney (Studentreps@SCRA27.org)

Culturally Sensitive Mentoring: Reflections from a SCRA Roundtable
By Irene Daboin, Allana Zuckerman, Dominique Thomas, and Robyn Borgman (Georgia State University)

Transformative Change in Community Mental Health Interest Group

Edited by Geoffrey Nelson, Wilfred Laurier University (gnelson@wlu.ca)

The Practice of Transformative Community Mental Health: Challenges and Perspectives for Change

Written by Jose Ornelas, Associate Professor at ISPA-University, Lisboa Portugal (jornelas@ispa.pt / www.ispa.pt) Co-founder of the Transformative Change in Community Mental Health Interest Group

TCP 48(4) Fall 2015