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- Community psychology and social change: A story from the field of mental health in PortugalPublication . Ornelas, José; Moniz, Maria João Vargas; Duarte, TeresaA contextual and ecological intervention approach for people experiencing mental illness was developed with a primary focus on the mobilization of natural resources, the expansion of social networks and supports, and to systematically promote opportunities for activity within the community. The mutual help movement provided a major contribution to enhance and strengthen the social role of those experiencing mental illness. This social change process was inspired by empowerment theory and the goal of recovery through social and community participation. Therefore we present a community-based intervention, based on the principles and values of Community Psychology, a program implemented during the last twenty years in the field of mental health that contributed to changes in the mental health system in Portugal. A community-based support system has been organized to provide social supports in terms of housing, education and employment by enhancing the use of natural contexts, such as schools and businesses, and the diverse social resources available to the general public.
- Recovery assessment scale : Testing validity with portuguese community-based mental health organization usersPublication . Monteiro, Maria Fátima Jorge; Ornelas, JoséThe aim of the present study was to develop the Portuguese version of the Recovery Assessment Scale (RAS-P), and to assess the validity of the findings using the revised test, with 213 users from 5 nonprofit community-based mental health organizations. Participants in the assessment completed a self-reported survey investigating their sense of personal recovery, personal empowerment, capabilities achievement, psychiatric symptoms’ frequency, and demographic data. Evidence from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses using the 24-item version of the test, validated a 4-factor structure for the RAS-P model based on the dimensions of Personal Goals and Hope, Managing Help Needs, Supportive Interpersonal Relationships, and Life Beyond Symptoms, consistent with components of the recovery process. Convergent and discriminant validity was also achieved using bivariate correlation coefficients among the 4 subscales’ scores, between the overall scale and the subscales, and in relation to external variables. Findings allowed for the interpretation that the RAS-P is measuring a particular psychological construct, which is different from symptoms of the mental illness. A hypothesized significant association with personal empowerment and with capabilities achievement was demonstrated. Positive association was also found between participants’ use of recovery-oriented services such as independent housing or supported employment programs. The RAS-P scores also revealed excellent internal consistency for the overall scale ( .90), and good consistency for the subscales ( .75), which attest to its precision in measurement. In conclusion, the study proved the RAS-P a reliable and useful tool in the context of the community mental health practice.
- Contributos da psicologia comunitária para a inovação em políticas públicasPublication . Ornelas, José; Moniz, Maria João VargasA Psicologia Comunitária integra na sua tradição a aspiração de ser fonte inspiradora de movimentos de mudança social; nesta esteira procura documentar-se como desde o final dos anos 80, esforços de implementação de iniciativas na comunidade, têm vindo a ser desenvolvidos em Portugal com base nos seus princípios e valores. As iniciativas abordadas foram organizadas pela sociedade civil. Através do seu percurso de desenvolvimento e dos seus contributos para a formulação de políticas públicas no contexto sociopolítico português, apresentam-se a AEIPS (Associação para o Estudo e Integração Psicossocial), criada em 1987 e a AMCV (Associação de Mulheres Contra a Violência), fundada em 1992. A primeira intervém na área da criação de um sistema comunitário de apoio à desinstitucionalização da população com doença mental e a segunda, igualmente na criação de um sistema comunitário de apoio, mas direccionado para mulheres e crianças sobreviventes de violência doméstica. As principais influências documentadas estão relacionadas, por um lado, com os contributos para a visibilidade dos fenómenos associados ao isolamento e vulnerabilidade dos grupos abrangidos e, por outro, na participação efectiva em eventos ou na produção de documentos e regulamentos de implementação de políticas públicas nas duas áreas em análise.
- Voices from the inside: lived experiences of women confined in a detention centerPublication . Esposito, Francesca; Ornelas, José; Scirocchi, Silvia; Arcidiacono, CaterinaDrawing on two years of fieldwork, this article focuses on the lived experiences of women detained inside Rome’s Identification and Expulsion Center, the main migration-related detention facility in Italy. We employed a thematic narrative analysis to examine the narratives of five women with different life trajectories in order to identify continuities and discontinuities within and across their stories. This analysis reveals that women’s experiences of oppression and agency—in their countries of origin, transit, and settlement—are deeply intertwined and strongly influenced by structural forces. Gender and sexuality, in relation to other hierarchies of power such as class, race, and nationality, profoundly shape such experiences, becoming crucial in the production of women as excludable and deportable subjects. Further, as the accounts of our participants lay bare, the immigration control system appears to play a key role in the (re)production of a dominant normative order. However, women are not passive spectators of the violence to which they are forcibly exposed. Rather, they struggle to cope with and resist the regimes of power that oppress their everyday lives. Through a feminist stance, this contribution seeks to enrich the body of scholarship on the lived experiences of women subject to practices of immigration and border control, particularly those confined in detention centers. Moreover, it highlights the need for a feminist project based on the creation of political and affective alliances across borders and axes of difference, particularly those related to legally produced statuses.
- Migration-related detention centers : The challenges of an ecological perspective with a focus on justicePublication . Esposito, Francesca; Ornelas, José; Arcidiacono, CaterinaBackground: In recent years, border control and migration-related detention have become increasingly widespread practices affecting the lives of undocumented migrants, their families, and communities at large. In spite of the concern within academia, few studies have directly witnessed the life and experiences of people confined to migration-related detention centers. In the medical and psychological fields, a considerable body of research has demonstrated the pathogenic nature of detention in terms of mental health, showing an association between length of detention and severity of distress. Nevertheless, it was limited to the assessment of individuals’ clinical consequences, mainly focusing on asylum seekers. There currently exists a need to adopt an ecological perspective from which to study detained migrants’ experiences as context-dependent, and influenced by power inequalities. This paper addresses this gap. Discussion: Drawing upon advances in community psychology, we illustrate an ecological framework for the study of migration-related detention contexts, and their effects on the lives of detained migrants and all people exposed to them. Making use of existing literature, Kelly’s four principles (interdependence, cycling of resources, adaptation, succession) are analyzed at multiple ecological levels (personal, interpersonal, organizational, communal), highlighting implications for future research in this field. A focus on justice, as a key-dimension of analysis, is also discussed. Wellbeing is acknowledged as a multilevel, dynamic, and value-dependent phenomenon. Summary: In presenting this alternative framework, the potential for studying migration-related detention through an ecological lens is highlighted, pointing the way for future fields of study. We argue that ecological multilevel analyses, conceptualized in terms of interdependent systems and with a focus on justice, can enhance the comprehension of the dynamics at play in migration-related detention centers, providing an effective tool to address the multi-level challenges of doing research within them. Furthermore, they can contribute to the development of policies and practices concerned with health, equality, and human rights of all people exposed to migration-related detention. Consistent with these assumptions, empirical studies adopting such a framework are strongly encouraged. These studies should use mixed and multi-method culturally situated designs, based on the development of collaborative and empowering relationships with participants. Ethnographic approaches are recommended.
- The Capabilities Questionnaire for the Community Mental Health context (CQ-CMH) : A measure inspired by the capabilities approach and constructed through consumer–researcher collaborationPublication . Sacchetto, Beatrice; Aguiar, Rita; Monteiro, Maria Fátima Jorge; Neves, Maria João; Cruz, Maria Adelaide; Coimbra, José António; Ornelas, JoséThe involvement of people with psychiatric disabilities in research and service evaluation has traditionally been rare, especially in the construction of outcome measures. This study documents a collaborative process with consumers from 2 Portuguese community mental health services in the construction of the Capabilities Questionnaire for the Community Mental Health context (CQ-CMH). The measure is inspired by Nussbaum's capabilities approach and aims to measure consumers' capabilities when supported by the community mental health services.
- Homeless adults’ recovery experiences in housing first and traditional services programs in seven european countriesPublication . Greenwood, Ronni Michelle; Manning, M; O' Shaughnessy, Branagh; Moniz, Maria João Vargas; Loubiere, Sandrine; Spinnewijn, Freek; Lenzi, Michela; Wolf, Walter; Bokszczanin, Anna; Bernad, Roberto; Källmen, Håkan; Ornelas, José; Monteiro, Maria Fátima Jorge; Almas, Inês; Duarte, Teresa; Disperati, Francesca; Gaboardi, Marta; Santinello, Massimo; Vieno, Alessio; Marques, Rita P.; Carmona, Maria; Nave, Américo; Rivero, Borja; Julián, Martin; Zmaczynska–Witek, Barbara; Katarzyna, Skałacka; Rogowska, Aleksandra; Schel, Sandra; Peters, Yvonne; Van Loenen, Tessa; Raben, Liselotte; Beijer, Ulla; Blid, Mats; Bispo, Teresa; Cruz, Tiago; Pereira, Carla; Auquier, Pascal; Petit, Leon; Tinland, AurelieAcross Europe, as governments turn to housing-led strategies in attempts to reverse rising rates of homelessness, increasing numbers of Housing First (HF) programs are being implemented. As HF programs become more widespread, it is important to understand how service users experience them compared to the more prevalent traditional treatment-first approach to addressing long-term homelessness. Although there is a large body of research on service users' experiences of Housing First compared to treatment-first in North American contexts, comparatively less is known about how these two categories of homeless services are experienced in the European context. In a correlational and cross-sectional study, part of a larger examination of homelessness in Europe, participants (n = 520) engaged with either HF (n = 245) or traditional services (TS; n = 275) programs in seven countries completed measures of their experiences of services (consumer choice, housing quality, and service satisfaction) and recovery (time in independent housing, psychiatric symptoms, and community integration). Across the seven countries, participants engaged with HF programs reported experiencing more consumer choice, better perceived housing quality, and more satisfaction with services than participants engaged in TS programs. Participants in HF programs also reported a greater proportion of time in independent accommodation, fewer psychiatric symptoms, and more community integration. Varying patterns of association between experiences of services and recovery outcomes were observed. Findings indicate HF consistently predicts greater recovery than TS across diverse sociopolitical and economic contexts. Implications of findings for configurations of homeless services and homeless services policy are discussed.
- Mudanças resultantes de um programa comunitário de prevenção dos abusos sexuais de crianças (ASC)Publication . Maria, Susana Gabriela da Silva; Ornelas, José; Bispo, ReginaOs programas de prevenção dos ASC têm recebido algumas críticas e comentários negativos por parte de alguns teóricos e investigadores na área. O nosso objectivo é apresentarmos um estudo em que nos propomos analisar o impacto de um programa comunitário de prevenção dos ASC desenvolvido a partir do contexto escolar e envolvendo: crianças, familiares e profissionais. Avaliaremos o impacto que este programa tem nos participantes em termos dos seus conhecimentos e competências relativamente à prevenção e intervenção nos ASC. Espera-se que os participantes demonstrem níveis significativamente mais elevados de conhecimentos e competências mais adequadas, relativamente à prevenção e intervenção nos ASC, após o seu envolvimento no programa quando comparados com os níveis anteriores. Consequentemente, o programa de prevenção em causa funcionará potencialmente como um redutor de risco e poderá contribuir positivamente para criar factores protectores nas potenciais vítimas, nas famílias e nos vários contextos do quotidiano, ou seja, na comunidade.
- Sentimento psicológico de comunidade : estudo da escala SCI-2 num contexto associativoPublication . Cunha, Olga Oliveira; Ornelas, José; Moniz, Maria João VargasResumo: O Sentimento de Comunidade é um dos conceitos fundamentais da Psicologia Comunitária. Seymour Sarason, em 1974, define-o como a perceção de pertença, interdependência e compromisso mútuo que liga os indivíduos de uma comunidade. No modelo proposto por McMillan e Chavis (1986) identificam-se quatro dimensões: estatuto de membro, integração e satisfação de necessidades, influência e relações emocionais partilhadas. A investigação tem procurado desenvolver medidas adequadas para o sentimento psicológico de comunidade pelo que no presente artigo é objetivo dos autores apresentar uma tradução e adaptação cultural da SCI-2 desenvolvida por Chavis, Lee e Acosta (2008) para um contexto associativo centrada nos seus membros voluntários (n=811). Através da análise fatorial confirmatória, verificámos que a escala evidencia um constructo multidimensional constituído pelos quatro fatores do modelo referido tendo apenas sido eliminados 2 dos 24 itens da escala original sendo que se discute a sua pertinência face ao original. O modelo resultante permite analisar e discutir o sentimento de comunidade no contexto estudado.
- European public perceptions of homelessness: A knowledge, attitudes and practices surveyPublication . Petit, Junie; Loubiere, Sandrine; Tinland, Aurlie; João Vargas Moniz, Maria; Spinnewijn, Freek; Manning, Rachel; Santinello, Massimo; Wolf, Judith; Bokszczanin, Anna; Bernad, Roberto; Källmen, Håkan; Ornelas, José; Auquier, PascalAddressing Citizen's perspectives on homelessness is crucial for the design of effective and durable policy responses, and available research in Europe is not yet substantive. We aim to explore citizens' opinions about homelessness and to explain the differences in attitudes within the general population of eight European countries: France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.