Re: Your Involvement

From: Andrew Phelps <dis_course@yahoo.com>

Subject: Re: [psysr-poverty] Your Involvement

To: psysr-poverty@googlegroups.com

Date: Thursday, October 21, 2010, 7:21 PM

Qtw:

Thank you for these comments.

I'm disappointed that my continuing advocacy for a "poverty" project has not been considered here. I agree that project #1 the "casebook" approach has a good quality, but in my opinion it needs augmentation by appropriate engagement. We are not doing ABSTRACTLY the idealized concept of "the psychology of poverty," rather we should be meaningfully connected with the psychology of current and/or likely/potential practices.

Qtw wrote:

I would also like to see a project or discussion on how we as psychologists can address poverty and inequality, some possible suggestions include:

Include a section of the information compendium that highlights needed research for research psychologists to address.
Start a discussion or provide suggestions for clinical psychologists to consider how, when, and why to offer free or discounted services for those who need them but can't afford them.
Start a discussion of how psychologists can get involved with poverty groups or community service/medical providers to offer mental health care to those who can't afford care.
Discuss ways in which psychologists can incorporate or address the 'big picture' of systemic poverty and inequality while we are trying to help individual's with their own personal suffering and problems.
Discuss ways that psychologists can get involved with politics, policy creation, advocacy, and activism to help in the fight against poverty and inequality.

My suggestion (Oct 9, which has not yet received comment) was:

"here's your example of "something specific" - we could arrange a meeting of Barbara Lee and PsySR to this effect. [the question of the psychology of poverty] Barbara built faithfully on the community mental health ideal of the 60s, and took an MSW 1975 in community mental health. Her lived experience is that she despaired of the community base of the model, went to work for her Congressman, and is now Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. "

In effect Congressperson Lee discovered by a "peace and social justice" community mental health advocacy in the 70s that learned helplessness prevails and therefore after receiving her MSW she set her sights on politics. Today we could reach out to her and discuss how psychologists can transcend the "learned helpless" approach and contribute to the poverty and inequality problem from the perspective of peach and social justice. That kind of "consulting" project could bring our work into focus and help us to know where we need to contribute.

The present proposal #1 seems to me to be of some value but taken as the only/main focus it would seem to be rather flat-footed.

There are a variety of situations where people have extensive lived experience, where we could interact/consult and enrich our manner of seeking truth from facts.

Andrew Phelps