Community Psychology

What?
Community Psychology is a field focused on the effects of social environments upon individuals’ wellbeing, and exploring community-level change as a means to improved individual functioning. The American Psychological Association (APA) defines Community Psychology as “a branch of psychology that encourages the development of theory, research, and practice relevant to the reciprocal relationships between individuals and the social systems that constitute the community context.” The APA goes on to note that this field overlaps with other disciplines in its emphasis on “social welfare, community mental health, and prevention” and its particular focus on topics including “poverty, substance abuse, violence, school failure, and other social issues.” Similarly, the Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA) orients itself around the mission of “social justice through collaborative research and action.” Community Psychology is an applied interdisciplinary field sometimes referred to under various names including “Clinical-Community Psychology,” “Ecological Psychology,” “Environmental Psychology,” or other similar applied labels. While some community psychologists do engage in traditional forms of psychotherapy (i.e., one-on-one or small group mental health services), most focus their efforts more broadly toward the effects of social contexts.

Who?
Community psychologists are people who are interested in the promotion of health and empowerment, and the prevention of risk and harm, through the interdisciplinary lenses of community research and action. Their philosophy highlights the crucial importance of seeking social justice in their work toward addressing oppression and inequity of various kinds. Their research methods are often qualitative and community action oriented, rather than purely quantitative and lab-based. And while most all career titles on this website are held by people who want to “help,” community psychologists perhaps stand apart from many others in their focus on helping in the big picture (i.e., community and society) rather than at the individual level. Thus, an intervention conducted by a community psychologist may look less like psychotherapy with a person/couple/family/group and more like a partnership with a local organization, public-facing advocacy around a certain issue, or policy planning and lobbying. A community psychologist is still a psychologist in their training and work mentality, but in many ways shares a skillset with a macro-focused social worker. To excel as a community psychologist, one will likely need to develop skills in community partnership building, grant-writing, program evaluation, needs assessment, public speaking, professionalism in connecting with diverse populations, cultural humility, and qualitative data inquiry. Given this description, people who will thrive in the field of Community Psychology are likely those who can effectively juggle multiple complex projects, enjoy being ‘out and about’ rather than tucked away in an office, are socially comfortable and confident holding frequent meetings with partners or the public, and are passionate about effecting positive progressive change through community-level initiatives.

Where?
Community psychologists work in a wide variety of settings and under a plethora of labels! Some relevant professional titles may include agency director, program executive, policy developer, consultant, evaluator, professor, researcher, and more. And whereas many mental health professionals experience their day-to-day work lives mostly in the same physical place (e.g., working shifts in the same hospital unit, holding therapy sessions in the same clinic), community psychologists by the nature of their work can have immense professional variety–appearing some days in court, some days in business settings, some days at fundraisers, some days at civic centers, and so on. Check out this page for more ideas about how and where community psychologists practice.

How?
Degree: In order to become a Community Psychologist, one will first need a Bachelor’s degree (likely a B.A. or B.S. in psychology, but perhaps instead in other related social sciences) and will thereafter need to pursue an advanced degree in a psychology graduate program (e.g., M.A., M.S., Ph.D., Psy.D.). As the field itself goes by multiple names (see above), the exact title of one’s graduate degree program may also vary. And because not all community psychologists practice psychotherapy, there is added diversity with regard to exact pathways toward this profession. This flexibility and interdisciplinarity of training makes Community Psychology somewhat akin to other hub sub-fields such as Sports Psychology and Forensic Psychology. In considering the decisions of pursuing master’s or doctoral level and research-focused or practice-focused training and degrees, it may be worth noting that this field (like numerous others) treats the master’s level as primarily a step toward a doctorate rather than a functional degree of its own. Thus, if one’s desire is to earn a master’s and head straight into the workforce doing community interventions, perhaps an MSW would make more sense than a master’s in community psych.
License: The community psychologists who do engage in psychotherapy are subject to the same licensing rules as clinical, counseling, school, and industrial/organizational psychologists in the state of Michigan. Thus they need to achieve a master’s or doctoral level degree which incorporates an adequate amount of supervised therapeutic practice, a post-degree supervised period of some kind (e.g., a post-doc position), and a passing score on the EPPP licensing exam. The requirements for licensure as a practicing psychologist in the state of Michigan can be explored at LARA. All that said, there are also many community psychologists who simply do not pursue licensure, because it is not required of their work. When “helping” is conducted at the community level rather than the individual level (e.g., through community action research, policy writing and advocacy, program design and evaluation), those professional works do not fall under the jurisdiction of state-sanctioned licensing. So ultimately, one does not necessarily need to be licensed at all to be a community psychologist, but, one does need to pursue licensing if they intend to conduct psychotherapy or other individualized services as part of their work.
Training: One should note that there are far fewer graduate programs in Community Psychology than other branches such as clinical or counseling. However, there are options in-state and elsewhere. For example, Michigan State University has a doctoral program titled Ecological / Community Psychology and Wayne State University has a master’s program titled School and Community Psychology. The SCRA also offers a full listing of graduate programs in community psych, including master’s and doctoral-level, both locally and abroad, so check that out too. Finally, keep in mind that because this field is interdisciplinary and flexible, one could conceivably earn a master’s or doctoral degree in something like Social Psychology or Clinical Psychology and then go on to conduct work which fits well within the scope of Community Psychology.

Why?
Like other mental health professionals, community psychologists are motivated by their desire to make a positive impact on the world and to be of “help” to others; but as noted above, they are somewhat unique in their focus upon interventions at the broader social level. In terms of their research, many are inspired by the ability to give a platform to particular populations which have historically been underrepresented or oppressed (i.e., not speaking for them, but using scholarship as a way to amplify their voices). And as clinicians, community psychologists are attuned to the enormous impact of one’s social surroundings in shaping wellness, and target their work at this important level which is sometimes overlooked in other sub-fields. Health (including mental health) is largely socially determined and Community Psychology prides itself on engaging directly with those factors.

Relevant State-Level Organizations
Michigan Psychological Association
Midwest ECO Conference

Relevant National Organizations
Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA; APA Division 27)
Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI)