It is an applied discipline where researchers examine various social issues including poverty, substance abuse, school failure, community development, risk and protective factors, empowerment, diversity, prevention , intervention, delinquency, high risk behaviors, aggression, violence, and many other topics. Community psychology represents a new perspective for looking at the problems of everyday life, a paradigm shift. It recognizes that many of the problems people confront arise not from disturbances within their individual psyches, but from the failures of community systems to adequately socialize and support its citizens. It replaces the traditional clinical perspective on helping that sees people in terms of their pathologies and deficits with the notion that all people have strengths and competencies. For community psychologists, successful helping is viewed as a mutual process.
Community psychology is ultimately about empowering others.
SCRA serves various different disciplines that focus on community research and action. The division was founded on the idea that social systems and environmental influences are important foci for enhancing wellness. Community Psychologists continue to champion an alternative vision for psychology, methodologically, empirically and politically. Training in the field of community psychology equips students with skills useful in coping with multifaceted problems facing communities. Students are also educated on how to conduct community research and intervention in a pluralistic society.