laudable—better mental health for all. In case the
reader had not noticed, this last statement almost
sounds as if it might have been made by a candidate
for public office. Indeed, some have argued that if
community professionals want to bring about social
change, they should run for political office. Those
who take this position say that social change (espe-
cially when it is accomplished by public funds) is a
political phenomenon and should be mandated by
the public.
Obviously, there is much to be said on both
sides. There is danger in adopting the narrow role
of the patient’s advocate rather than the broader
role of advocate for the larger community. Adopting
the narrow role may cause the real bases of patients’
problems to be ignored. But there is also great danger
in becoming a political advocate. Ideally, the individ-
ual practitioner and the community-oriented advo-
cate will each carefully examine the potential for both
harm and good that is inherent in their positions.
The Training of Community
PsychologistsAt present, many still have difficulty understanding
exactly what a community psychologist is. Perhaps
because of its multidisciplinary orientation, com-
munity psychology has yet to develop an adequate
or identifiable theoretical framework apart from
those of other disciplines. This, at times, creates
role confusion. The community psychologist is
part sociologist, part political scientist, part psycho-
therapist, part ombudsman, but lacks a specific
identity. This ambiguity makes it difficult to design
appropriate training programs.
Fortunately, there are some guidelines for
training. The earlier IOM report (1994) recom-
mends that future prevention research specialists
should have a solid background in a relevant disci-
pline (e.g., nursing, sociology, social work, public
health, epidemiology, medicine, or clinical/com-
munity psychology). Training in the design of
interventions and the empirical evaluations of inter-
ventions is essential. Finally, practicum or
internship-like training in prevention is also recom-
mended. Educational requirements for prevention
field specialists (those that actually carry out the
interventions) are less stringent. Often, a bachelor’s
degree in a relevant field (e.g., psychology) is suffi-
cient. However, today there are many additional
education opportunities available for training in
community psychology. The Society for Commu-
nity Research and Action (SCRA) provides an up-
to-date listing of many of these undergraduate
training and graduate training opportunities (see
Web sites 16-1 and 16-4).
Given the increasing cultural and ethnic
diversity in the United States, it is also important
for community psychologists to receive training
in how diversity issues may impact their work
(Trickett, 2009). For example, a knowledge of
and sensitivity to cultural and ethnic differences
will inform the following activities and roles of a
prevention researcher (Institute of Medicine, 1994):- Developing relationships with community
leaders and organizations - Conceptualizing and identifying potential
risk factors, mechanisms, and antecedents of
problems or disorders - Developing interventions that will have maxi-
mum effect, and deciding how these should be
disseminated and delivered to the target
population - Determining the content and format of evalu-
ation instruments
The Future of Prevention
Given the compelling rationale of prevention and,
more recently, the documented effectiveness of
preventive efforts (NRC-IOM, 2009), it may
seem puzzling that more resources are not dedi-
cated to these forms of intervention. In a classic
but still highly relevant article, Cowen (1983)
described a number of barriers and resistances to
the prevention movement. To cite a few examples,
those outside the field may remain skeptical because
(a) the social and environmental focus of preventive
interventions differs philosophically from the tradi-
tional focus on individual variables practiced by
many clinical psychologists; (b) prevention, in aCOMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY 481