The document discusses James Kelly's ecological approach to mental health and community psychology. The key points are: 1. Kelly viewed problems as arising from faulty adaptation to one's environment rather than individual deficiencies alone. He stressed understanding the social contexts in which people function. 2. An ecological perspective means community psychologists must learn about the communities they work with and see human activity as situated within socio-historical and cultural contexts of relationships. 3. Kelly proposed four principles from biological ecology - interdependence, distribution of resources, adaptation, and succession - to guide assessment of natural social environments.

1. Ecological Approach to Mental Health
Problems- Contributions of James Kelly
COUNSELLING IN
COMMUNITY SETTINGS

2.  Community Psychology is a way of thinking about
people’s behavior and well–being in the context of
community environments and social systems.
Community Psychology

3.  The branch of biology that
deals with the relations of
organisms to one another
and to their physical
surroundings.
Ecology

4.  Kelly (1972)
 Problems are seen as faulty adaptation in the natural
environment rather than solely as deficiencies of
individuals.
 The ecological view means that, first, community
psychologists need to know the communities in which
they are working.
 A community could be any social environment in which
people function – school, neighborhood, hospital,
workplace, or church.
Ecological View Of Human
Functioning,

5.  According to Trickett (1996)
 Human activity does not develop in a social vacuum,
but rather it is vigorously situated within a socio-
historical and cultural context of meanings and
relationships’.

6.  A setting that influences an individual, such as
the physical and social, economic and political
environment.
 It means that behavior can be better
understood if the context in which it takes
place is understood.
An ecological context is,

7.  Changes in human behavior may be possible when
patterns of social and organizational relationships
change, or the physical environment changes.
 New ways of conceptualizing behavior

8.  1. Thinking about people can be accomplished while
at the same time thinking about their social
environments and the interdependence of both
upon each other.
 2. Creating methods congruent with the culture of a
community can enhance understanding life in a
community.
4 Attributes /Qualities of Ecological
Concepts of Community Psychology

9.  3. Generating innovative community based programs
requires the community psychologist to establish a
relationship of trust with representatives of that
community. Without a relationship of trust there will be
little useful knowledge learned or applied.
 4. The active working relationship between the community
psychologist and the community often generates
knowledge and insights that are new to the community
psychologist. The community psychologist is a co-learner.

10.  Not just an expert.
 The community psychologist performs a role, which
enhances the very process of doing community
psychology.
 Much of the learned insights depend on the in depth
knowledge about the local culture and its history,
conflicts and hopes.
Community Psychologist, as
Ecologist,

11.  Knowledge of the local setting is
primary.
 The ecological psychologist works
to limit the power and prestige of
the psychologist while creating a
shared grounded platform to
work together.
 Respect from the community is
essential.

12.  1. Understanding a community means the community
psychologist learns about oneself and the community.
 2. Research and action programs requires the community
psychologist to establish a relationship of trust.
 3. The interdependence of persons and social environments.
 4. Understanding life in communities can be enhanced by
creating methods congruent with the culture of that place

13.  Persons with different qualities can have different
adaptations in various places .
 Study on-boys who varied in levels of exploratory
preferences in two contrasting high schools outside of
detroit.
 The focus was to look at how the boys adapted to high
schools with varied qualities.
 High explorers adapted well at both schools.
 High explorers had more episodes of difficulty at the
constant school.
1. The interdependence of persons
and social environments.

14.  Ecological thinking is generative and challenging.
 Ecological truth is not fixed.
 It requires researchers to be committed to a continuous
process of revision of ideas.
 Contexts are shifting. People are changing. So the
interdependence of people and places is evolving.
 This reality influences how knowledge is created and
revised.

15.  Participation with citizens.
 Ecological inquiry is an expedition to reflect those
topics that are salient for that particular group of
participants.
 Leaders themselves with the active participation of
the research group jointly created the methods and
the research process.
2. Understanding life in communities can be enhanced
by creating methods congruent with the culture of
that place

16.  Establishing trust includes a series of skills and qualities
that maybe hard to identify.
 Community residents have a talent for sensing our
motivations.
 If the community members are not convinced the
journey will be slow.
 This is often difficult if we some how are unknowingly
elitist and communicate that we are in fact better than
the community participants.
2. Research and action programs requires the
community psychologist to establish a relationship
of trust.

17.  Building trust can be enhanced when the community
psychologist creates a supportive structure and
process that encourages openness and feedback.
 Not only has more creditability with the citizens but
there is an increased chance that the findings may
really contribute to the promotion of the community
(kelly, 2006).

18.  The community psychologist learns as much as the
citizens.
 Needs to be balanced with the demands of the
participants.
4.. Understanding a community means the community
psychologist learns about oneself and the community.

19.  Kelly (1972) suggested using four principles from
biological ecology to guide community
psychologists’ assessment of natural social
environments. These are the following:
4 Principles

20.  That the multiple components of a social context are
interrelated and influence the other parts.
 Changes in one part may produce change in other
parts of the context.
1. Principle of Interdependence

21.  One can understand community functioning by analyzing
the definition, distribution, utilization and development
of these resources.
 Interventions can affect the way resources are created
and defined as well as the way they are distributed.
 How a community spends the funds at its disposal may
also indicate which issues are considered important in
that community.
2. Principle of Distribution of
Resources

22.  Adaptation refers to the process by which people
cope with available or changing resources in their
environments.
 Different skills or competencies are necessary to
successfully adapt to the demands of each
community
3. Principle of Adaptation

23.  Succession refers to the orderly process of community
change as a way of adapting to new situations.
 In the natural course of things, all communities change.
They must adapt to change in the external environment.
 The role of a community psychologist is not simply to help
the community mobilize its resources to solve current
problems, but to help it prepare for future changes.
4. Principle of Succession

24. Thank you…….