Event - Community psychology lecture

Professor Rachel Tribe recently gave a lecture to a group of Italian psychologists on the topic of community psychology as part of their training at the Gruppo Italiano Tecniche di Imagerie Mentale (GITIM) - translation ‘Italian Group of Mental Imagery Techniques’.

The training was conducted with the kind help of an interpreter. Part of Professor Tribe’s talk addressed the topic of ‘what is community psychology?’ and the remaining section looked at what has been achieved by Careif. This included discussing the joint project by Careif and the Ethnic Inclusion Foundation Charities Project on improving the mental health of South Asian populations in the UK.

Rachel also talked about the forthcoming Careif report on The health needs of the Indo-Caribbean Community in the UK. Additionally, she discussed Careif’s work in Sri Lanka and our forthcoming work in Pakistan.

The talk included the participants undertaking various exercises, which they entered into wholeheartedly. Attendees reported that they enjoyed these exercises which really made them think about their practice. The discussion also covered multidisciplinary teamwork and the British Psychological Society’s guidance on working with community organisations.

A lively discussion took place about the differences in the mental health systems and practices of Britain and Italy. The attendees reported liking the interactive nature of the session and said they liked learning about the role of public and community work. They also noted that the training increased their knowledge of different conditions and the importance of multidisciplinary working. They requested a further session be offered.

Professor Tribe commented afterwards:

“Clinicians in mental health can play an important role in partnering with community organisations to improve the mental health and wellbeing of everyone. Community organisations bring a wealth of experience and expertise. This training was an example of Careif’s mission and our fundamental goal to share knowledge and change lives.”