Community psychology: practice in Valparaiso and disciplinary vision of the nationals academics

Abstract

The following essay is the result of a research that analyzes the characteristics of intervention practices and disciplinary development of Communitarian Psychology in the country. The work was based on different studies that suggest there is a gap between the disciplinary framework and the intervention practices. 

A survey was applied on a sample of fifty-one psychologists that work in community intervention in the Valparaíso Province, and later, a subsample of five of these psychologists and eight acknowledged national academics were interviewed. Results confirm that the contents of the gap have worsened, giving priority to individual interventions focused on the improvement of life conditions and mental health of the participants. The research concludes that it is necessary to reconsider the contents and objectives of the discipline in the national context, in order to emphasize the social transformation that is inherent to it.