Calls from various quarters, including educators, practitioners and students, to reimagine mainstream psychology within the African context have stemmed from issues of relevance and appropriateness in local communities. Community psychology has emerged as a viable approach in response to these critiques, practising cooperative principles of accountability and engagement in a sustainable manner that involves
psychologists, community members and other relevant stakeholders.
Against this backdrop, each chapter in Community Psychology contextualises community psychology practices in the South African context. Significant issues that are faced by local communities and therefore encountered by community psychologists, such as poverty, violence, substance abuse, racism, HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence, are discussed in depth.
Each chapter provides students, educators and practitioners with relevant theoretical background as well as practical tools and examples to equip them with innovative, culturally diverse, communal prevention and intervention strategies.
Community Psychology is a textbook for students, educators and practitioners who aspire to be agents of change. It will equip readers with contextualised perspectives of how culture, context and community shape people’s lives and lived circumstances, as well as knowledge of interventions to promote meaningful change in South African communities.