A conversation with Carl Walker, a community psychologist who developed the Community Psychology MA at University of Brighton. He is on the BPS Community Psychology Committee, and he is also an active researcher exploring community activism, debt, social inequalities and mental health.
Carl talks about his journey to Community Psychology and his dissatisfaction with how we conceptualise distress by focusing on symptoms, rather than broader social inequalities. Carl discovered a new way of working when Prof Katherine Johnson asked him to develop a community psychology module. Carl speaks about what Community Psychology means to him. Firstly, as a mechanism for psychologists to become political in order to engage in social change. And secondly it means not just paying lip service to the idea that others have different forms of expertise, you need to really live it and believe it.
This approach is evident in all his work and activism. Carl speaks with us about his work to share these ideas further; Carl, Sally Zlotowitz & Anna Zoli have edited a book offering examples and ideas of how to incorporate Community Psychology ideas into practice. He highlights the value of projects that make small steps towards change and encourages other to keep ‘chipping away’.
