What One’s Relation With the Community Should Be Like

"Community psychology and prevention are separate but related entities. Both refer to models of understanding and intervening in the human condition" (Butman, 2010, p. 398). This form of psychology focuses on enhancing the quality of an individual's life for the benefit of the community, as well as for themselves. Community psychologists have a wide range of job opportunities within the community and within academic settings. As well as being found in healthcare, law, social and human services, and a wide variety of organizations within many nations.

Communities within every category needs certain characteristics for it to be a competent community. "At the individual level, Cowen's influential formulation of wellness incorporates "earthy indicators; like eating well, sleeping well and doing one's mandated life tasks well" along with "life satisfaction indicators such as purposefulness, belongingness, sense of control over one's fate, basic satisfaction with oneself and one's existence" (Butman, 2010, p. 403). But regardless of this it is not enough that individuals experience this sense of wellness, the individual must also strive to better the community in which they are in. "Competence refers to particular abilities or sets of abilities that contribute to overall wellness" (Butman, 2010, p. 404). Individuals that strive to make the community well show characteristics of self-awareness, being able to confront conflict in a healthy manner, be able to articulate their needs, and desire to be beneficial to others. Having resilience is just as important as well.

When the client has resilience they begin to add another layer of depth to the community and preventative perspectives on health. To be put simply, Butman (2010) says "Cowen's simple, but brilliant, definition of resilience is the ability of a person to" swim well, when all known predictors say they should sink". A person that is able to cope with the stressors within life and even shows signs of defying the situation shows the characteristics of being a resilient person. And of course there is a high need for there to be a consistent flow of positive psychology within a community that emphasis on wellness, competence and resilience. Positive psychologists show a great concern for positive institutions that give individual virtues such as hope, leadership, and courage. Focusing on the heart of the person, and an emphasis on happiness as well.

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The community and system within the community can be in need of a counselor if certain events happen within individual lives in the community. Such as a person losing their home to a fire, a major life event such as a marriage or divorce, death of a spouse, a stressor becoming exceedingly more difficult to cope with, low-income urban neighborhoods, or the threat of violence. When a singular member or more within the community is experiencing one of these the health of the community can quickly become ill. If individuals lack the ability to cope, which is a cognitive aspect of a human, they can begin to have changes in their behavioral responses.

Whenever this occurs it is important that the psychologist helps this person find different coping techniques so that they can deal with this stressor within their life. Some coping strategies are more effective than others, such as problem-solving strategies that help them better understand what the problem is and how to seek help and find solutions to better the situation. Such as finding a tutor to help them do better on an exam, or being able to identify the problem pattern and then modify what they do to avoid the problem again. Then there are the more emotion-focused strategies that help a person identify what they are feeling and why. These can be less effective because they can lead to a person becoming fixated on the problem instead of finding the solution. But if focused on in a healthy manor they can become a great tool for an individual to use.

Within the Christian community we often struggle with God's concern for justice for the poor and oppressed. Biblical justice is "best understood in the context of the larger concept of shalom. Shalom is the person dwelling peaceably with God, self, others, and nature. Justice is an essential feature of the peace that is to be found in these relationships, because in the relationships people must receive what they are due" (Butman, 2010, p. 411). It is when radical notion is a found character within the relationship that we will find shalom.

This also expands to more than just personal or interpersonal, it is also found to be true in a communal setting as well. The community and preventative strategies address these concerns by "placing a high value on collaboration, citizen participation and empowerment, as well as their commitment to closely evaluating outcomes" (Butman, 2010, p. 412). When interventions are presented within this community it is best to address them in a manner that minimizes threat to the community so that healthy change can be made within the community.

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