Community psychology in South Africa

Abstract

In this chapter, we describe the historical and contemporary forces that have shaped the development of psychology and community psychology (CP) in pre-apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa. In the evolution of CP in South Africa, we describe how resistance to the apartheid government is reflected in the call for relevance in the academies and how CP was viewed as an important part of the call for change and social justice. The parlous state of psychological services to the populace in general is highlighted. We reflect on how privileging biomedical care and clinical psychology has hindered the development of CP but at the same time spurred on a critical discourse of psychology and psychological practice in general. We then comment on the current status of CP in South Africa, which while broadly recognized and taught in tertiary institutions does not exist as an independent category of practice. We reflect on the impact of the new Mental Health Act and the compulsory community service for clinical psychologists and its implications for CP. Finally, we comment on the emergence and support of indigenous knowledge as an important vehicle for informing CP in the future. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.