Psychotherapy
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Community Solutions
About Ellen
 

Community Solutions
 

Purpose

To initiate community projects focused on the needs of children and  families.  

Steps in the Community Solutions Process.

 

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An invitation from a community group is received.

bullet Based on shared interests, an initial group comes together to discuss the possibility of a community project.
bullet This initial group expands to include people who might have a stake in the project, in order to assess interest and need from multiple points of view.
bullet A leadership team is formed, from this initial group, to develop a pilot project built upon the needs, strengths and resources of the community.
bullet This leadership group takes responsibility for forming a nonprofit, if necessary, finding adequate funding and developing the project.  This pilot phase usually lasts 1-3 years.
bullet After the project is evaluated, a dissemination phase begins.  In this phase, the members of the leadership team usually shift responsibility to other community members who work to link the project with other community activities and organizations..
bullet Public policy implications  and  write-ups of the project occur at this point.    
 
Projects

 

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Houston Long-Term Recovery Project (AFTA Action Research Team ART).

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Human Rights Committee network for systemic responses to disaster. American Family Therapy Association..

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Response to Katrina- Work with Red Cross.

bullet Kosovar Family Professional Education Collaboration and Service- Based Training Project.  Begun 1999 by  the Department of Neuropsychiatry at the University of Pristine; the Institute on Genocide, Psychiatry, and Witnessing at the University of Illinois at Chicago; the Chicago Center for Family Health at the University of Chicago, and the American Family Therapy Academy (AFTA), a professional organization of family therapy teachers and researchers.  See Gjakova for a brief synopsis of one aspect of this project .
bullet Community Collaborative for Family-Based Practice  Begun 1999 at the Center for Innovative Practice at Smith College School for Social Work in conjunction with state and local stakeholders in children and family mental health services.  See Publications for project description: (2002) Practice Innovations in Mental Health Services to Children and Families-New Directions  for Massachusetts. with Lightburn, A., Olson, M. Sessions, P. Studies in Social Work.  Smith College 72 (2) . (2001) The Heart of the Matter. with , Olson, M.  Sessions,  P An essay about the effects of managed care on family therapy.  Family Process.  Vol 40. No. 4. The Heart of The Matter 2, Family Process Summer 2004.
bullet Sisters Inc.  Cummington, Massachusetts.  Begun 1998 with local women developing a program for girls and mentors. For a description of the project see:  (2000) Nobody Tells You Who You Are: A community project for rural women and girls. The Journal of Feminist Family Therapy. Summer.
bullet Women’s Center. Stockton, California.1976. Begun by a small group of women working to meet the needs of women and children.  An example of their work can be found in: (1979)  Untying the knot of sexism: A training guide. The Women's Center of  Stockton and the Stockton United School District.
bullet West African Counseling Center, University of Lagos, Nigeria. Begun 1973 with students and faculty of the Department of Psychology.  One aspect is described in (1979) Crossing  cultural barriers:  A view from Lagos.  Personnel and Guidance Journal, Volume 53, Number 3.
 
Ellen Pulleyblank Coffey, Ph.D.  ©2003  All Rights Reserved