Community Psychology and Consultation

Question 1

Community Psychology

Answer 1

Community Psych: derived from public health and prevention of disease. Stresses prevention over treatment.

1. Primary Prevention: reducing the prevalence of mental and physical dx by decreasing the incidence of new cases.
   
   1. making a program/strategy to promote health available to all members of an id’ed group/pop.
   2. immunization programs, prenatal nutrition to low-SES moms. Meals on wheels and education programs on drug abuse.
2. **Secondary Prevention: **decrease the prevalence of mental and physical disorders by reducing their duration through early detection/intervention.
   
   1. specific individuals id’ed and those individuals provided trtmnt.
   2. using screeners for reading dx for Kinder to provide an intervention.
3. Tertiary Prevention: reduce the duration and consequences of mental/physical dx.
   
   1. Rehabilitation programs, halfway houses, ed programs to improve community attitudes towards the disabled.

Education

• reduce incidence of problem by increasing preventative activities
• improve the care of the ill by educating the public about the dx and trtmnt
• ed. good for info but less for changing health related practices.
• mass media can be better at both
• peer norms to alter health-related behavior is especially good with adolescents (teens listen to teens)

Preventitive Health Care:

1. Health Belief Model: health behavior are influenced by:
   
   1. readiness to take action in relation to perceived susceptibility to the illness and severity of consequences.
   2. evaluation fo the benefits and costs ofmaking a particular response
   3. internal and external cues to action that trigger the response like health of friends/family, mass media.
   4. idea that health bx can be modfied by targeting people’s knowledge and/or motivation to act
2. Health Locus of Control Model
   
   1. we have the ability to control health or it depends on luck or other uncontrollable factors.
   2. promoting the patient’s sense of persoanl responsibility and control.

Question 2

Consultation

Answer 2

Organizational Consultation: adopts a systems approach and defines the entire organization as the consultee.

Advocacy Consultation : requires the consultant to adopt an explicit value orientation in order to foster the goals of a disenfranchised group.

**Stages of Consultation: **

1. Entry: id consultee needs, contracting and physically/psychologically enter the system.
   
   1. Resistance can be healthy and normal response to change or unhealthy if too rigid.
   2. reduce resistance by publicly clarifying nature of consultant’s service, strong collaborative relationship is goal.
2. Diagnosis: Gathering information, defining the problem, setting goals, id possible interventions.
   
   1. Review documents and records, administer questionnaires, and surveys, conduct interviews, and direct observations.
3. Implementation: choosing an intervention, formulating a plan and implementing the plan.
4. Disengagement: evaluating the consultation, planning post-consultation matters, reducing involvement and follow-up and termination.

Question 3

Mental Health Consultation

Answer 3

Mental Health Consultation: derived from medical/psychiatric model and based on Gerald Caplan.

4 types involving the consultant, consultee, and the client or program.

1. Client-Centered Case Consultation:
   
   1. working with the consultee (teacher or therapist) to develop a plan that will enable the consultee to work more effectively with a paricular client (student or patient).
   2. The consultant acts as an expert and provides the consultee with relevant information.
2. Consultant-Centered Case Consultation:
   
   1. ​Goal to enhance the consultee’s performance in delivering services to a particular population or group of clients
   2. focus in on the consultee’s skills, knowledge, abilitites and or objectivity.
   3. theme interference: lack of objectivity due to transference that occurs when a past unresolved conflict related to the client type is evoked by and interferes with the consultee’s current situation.
3. **Program-Centered Administrative Consultation: **
   
   1. ​working with one or more administrators (the consultees) to resolve problems related to an existing program
4. **Consultee-Centered Administrative Consultation: **
   
   1. ​help administrative-level personnel improve their professional functioning so they can be more effective in the future with regard to program development, implementation, and evaluation.

Question 4

Consultation vs. Supervision

Answer 4

Consultation:

1. consultee may not be the same profession as the consultant

Supervision

1. supervisor is usually the same profession as the supervisee
2. has administrative responcibility and power over the supervisee
3. parallel process: therapist (supervisee) replicates problems and symptoms with the supervisor that are being manifested by the therapist’s client.
   
   1. client is anxious/frustrated, and psychology intern is not able to alleviate symptoms, the intern may enter supervision anxious and frustrated.