Richard Walsh-Bowers

Social network transactions of psychiatric patients

In this research we examine self-reported social network transactions of former psychiatric inpatients residing in different types of housing in the community. Unlike earlier research, we found considerable reciprocity in network transactions with family and friends. Only professionals provided more support than they received from patients. Providing emotional support to others was positively correlated with positive affect, community integration, and mastery. Respondents reported more supportive than unsupportive transactions with network members and more supportive transactions with friends than with family or professionals. Finally, residents of supportive apartments and group homes provided and received support more frequently than residents of board-and-care homes. We discuss the results in terms of their implications for policy and future research.

The Relationship Between Housing Characteristics, Emotional Well-Being and the Personal Empowerment of Psychiatric Consumer/Survivors

In this research, we examine the relationshipsbetween the housing characteristics and dimensions ofcommunity adaptation for 107 psychiatricconsumer/survivors. Hypotheses about which housingcharacteristics best predict which dimensions of adaptationwere made based on previous research and theory. Usinga longitudinal research design, we found, aftercontrolling for demographic variables and prioradaptation, that the number of living companions, housingconcerns, and having a private room all significantlypredicted different dimensions of community adaptation.The findings partially support our theoretical expectations and illuminate the relationshipbetween physical, social and organizational aspects ofcommunity-based housing and the adaptation ofpsychiatric consumer/survivors. We discuss theimplications of the results for policy and practice inproviding housing for this population.

Psychiatric consumer/survivors' quality of life: Quantitative and qualitative perspectives

In this research, we examined psychiatric consumer/survivors quality of life using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Based on previous research and ecological/empowerment theory, we expected objective indicators of personal empowerment, social support (including negative network transactions), housing, and community integration to be related to consumer/survivors perceptions of their subjective qudity of life. The results provided partial support for our model. Qualitative data tended to confirm the quantitative findings and they provided additional insights leading to a revised ecological/empowerment model of quality of life for psychiatric consumer/survivors.

A comparative evaluation of supportive apartments, group homes, and board-and-care homes for psychiatric consumer/survivors

In this research, we examined the processes and outcomes of supportive housing for psychiatric consumer/survivors. To determine the relative effectiveness of supportive apartments (SA) and group homes (GH) operated by non-profit mental health agencies, we used a longitudinal design with a non-equivalent comparison group of people residing in private, for-profit board-and-care homes (BCH). A total of 107 psychiatric consumer/survivors completed an initial interview and a follow-up interview one year later. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected in the interviews. In terms of housing and social support processes, the residents of SA and GH were more likely to have their own room, to spend less of their income on rent, and to have more control in decision-making in the residences than people living in BCH. Residents of group facilities (GH and BCH) had more staff support, more emotional and problem-solving support, and less emotional abuse than residents of SA. The outcome analyses showed that residents in all three types of housing increased their involvement in instrumental roles (e.g., work, education) over time, and residents of SA and GH reported more changes in terms of personal growth and increased community involvement and showed increases in independent functioning, as rated by staff, than residents of BCH. However, none of the groups showed improvement over time on measures of perceived control, resident-rated independent functioning, meaningful activity, positive and negative affect, and life satisfaction. The results are discussed in terms of previous literature and implications for future research.

A personal sojourn to spiritualize community psychology

From a personal perspective on the tensions experienced in my career as a community psychologist, I advocate spiritualizing community psychology. I draw heavily from my teaching and research of the history of the discipline, as well as from teaching introductory psychology to Native students. Using the critical concept of scientism to examine the historical dialectic between objectivity and subjectivity, I show how a quasi-religion of psychology has prevailed, while excluding soul, spirit, and spirituality. Radical developments in Christianity (i.e., liberation theology, the historical Jesus scholarship, and feminist theology) further challenge community psychologists seeking rapprochement with religion and spirituality. I conclude by discussing the implications of a conversion to spirituality for community psychology.

Community psychology values and the culture of graduate training: A self‐study

In this self-study of an M.A. program in community psychology, the authors focused on evaluation of training goals related to the values of collaboration, empowerment, and diversity. Employing quantitative and qualitative methods, the evaluator, a thesis student in the program, cooperated with a stakeholder committee and other student, staff, and faculty members of the program to construct the methods and interpret the findings. Although the converging sources of data showed that the program was meeting its process goals to some extent, several key issues in the culture of training, such as the status of women, the psychological sense of community, and a supportive learning environment, needed improvement. The authors interpret the findings in terms of the impact of the university system and patriarchal norms on training in community psychology.

Fundamentalism in Psychological Science The Publication Manual as “Bible”

Drawing from social historical studies and critical feminist perspectives on psychological method and report writing, I analyze the content of the fourth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA, 1994) as if it were a biblical text. I focus on the correspondence between the espoused intention of sensitivity toward participants and the codes of investigative conduct made explicit and implicit in the manual. Specifically, I examine definitions of research, research roles, ethical standards, writing style, and gender issues. I then discuss the manuals function as a fundamentalist bible in relation to psychologists culture, including socialization of psychology students and the production of research articles. I conclude with recommendations for investigative and compositional alternatives.

Housing for psychiatric survivors: values, policy and research.

Geoffrey Nelson, Ph.D., and Richard WalshBowers, Ph.D., are with the Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario. G. Brent Hall, Ph.D., is with the School of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Waterloo, Ontario. The authors are grateful to the National Health Research Development Program of Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Health, Community Mental Health Branch, Wilfrid Laurier University, and the University of Waterloo for funding their research, and the Ontario Mental Health Foundation for supporting the principal investigator with a Senior Research Fellowship. The authors also thank the residents and staff of the different types of housing for their participation in the research and the following persons for their research assistance: Donna Cameron, Gary Edwards, Lorie Fioze, Judy Gould, Karen Hayward, Janice McCarthy, Cari Patterson, Leslea Peirson, Kelly Peters, Ruth Slater, Denise Squire, Colleen Wiltshire, as well as Isaac Prilleltensky for his helpful comments. Address for correspondence: Geoffrey Nelson, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3C5. high; and abuse and neglect of patients was widespread in these settings (Rappaport, 1977). To address these problems, various community alternatives to institutionalizadon were developed. These programs emphasized treatment-rehabilitation of people with serious mental health problems in the community, with the prevention of rehospitalization and the development of life skills as goals. While community alternatives have been effective in achieving these goals (e.g., Stein & Test, 1985), several problems have been noted (Nelson & Walsh-Bowers, 1994). First, the expert role of mental health professionals, with insufficient attention to the preferences and experiential knowledge of people with serious mental health problems and their family members, maintains the power imbalances between professionals and service-users. Second, the focus on deficits and professional treatment can contribute to stigma and encourage dependence on professionals. Third, locating problems within service-users ignores the social conditions (e.g., poverty, poor quality housing, unemployment), that such individuals face.

Ethics as a Located Story A Comparison of North American and Cuban Clinical Ethics

This paper provides a comparative perspective on applied professional ethics. As part of a multi-site research project, findings from a qualitative interview study of Cuban psychologists were compared to findings from a similar study of psychologists and social workers in three Canadian human service settings. The comparison generates insights into the contingent nature of conceptions and applications of ethics: that is, the authors found that different `stories about the meaning of professional ethics derived from the different historical, political and economic relations of Cuba and North America. Such differences were manifested in the relation of the professional to the political, in collectivist versus individualist orientations to ethics, and in relationships between the personal and the professional. The authors contend that the importance of a comparative approach is that it encourages a reflexive attitude to ethics by unsettling the notion that there are universal prescriptions for ethics. In addition, the comparison opens space for including the dynamics of privilege, marginalization, power and resistance as crucial elements of the social construction of professional ethics.

A Theatre Acting Perspective on the Dramaturgical Metaphor and the Postmodern Self

Based on the premise that a psychology of theatre acting can teach psychologists about social acting, I evaluate Goffman’s influential dramaturgical metaphor and discuss what theatre acting reveals about conceptions of the self. Within Goffman’s model, differences between the quotidian and theatre worlds are accidental and daily life is like theatre actors’ life on stage. First, I assess how well this version of the drama-turgical metaphor accounts for both theatre acting and social interaction. The complexly layered, psychological aspects of theatre acting reveal the limitations of Goffman’s model. The second critical issue pertains to the implications of a psychology of theatre acting for conceptions of the self. The flexible, relational nature of theatre actors’ multiple ‘selves’ challenges psychologists’ literalist applications of dramaturgy to social actors as well as essentialist conceptions of a core self, while complementing postmodern notions of relational selves.