The spirit of community psychology. 2001 Seymour B. Sarason Award Address

Am J Community Psychol. 2002 Feb;30(1):43-63. doi: 10.1023/a:1014368000641.

Abstract

Community psychology as a field may have lost some of its original spirit; a spirit dominant at the founding of the field. Spirit is a difficult concept to discuss since it is a concept beyond usual discourse in psychology as a denotative, measurable and verifiable concept. Taking the lead from William James, Spirit, however elusive, is most essential to a sense of self. I offer three suggestions to enhance and to make our individual and collective spirit more vital: (1) Continuing education in the history of community psychology; (2) Creating time to share stories about our work; (3) Creating safe settings to enlarge our spirit. These ideas are offered as pragmatic suggestions to enable us to create more coherence between our personal and professional selves.

Publication types

  • Address

MeSH terms

  • Anecdotes as Topic
  • Humans
  • Interprofessional Relations*
  • Organizational Culture
  • Psychology, Social* / education
  • Social Support
  • Social Values
  • Societies / organization & administration
  • Spirituality*
  • United States
  • Universities / organization & administration