PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAMME

• To instill in students the ability for critical thinking required to demonstrate a sound knowledge of alleviating community psychosocial problems through ameliorative and transformative interventions.
• To equip students with theories and skills for use in promoting the engagement of the broader community in assessing psycho-ecological problems.
• To produce graduates who can apply Community Psychology knowledge, principles, values and competencies relevant to understanding people in context.
• To prepare students for community practice and employment in various community settings.
• To prepare students for further studies in related fields of Psychology and communities’ needy areas.
• To produce graduates who are ethically and socially responsible.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

            Normal Entry: Minimum of an upper second class (2.1) in a BSc Honours Degree in

            Psychology.

3.0 PROGRAMME CHARACTERISTICS

• Areas of Study: Community Psychology.
• Specialist focus: Prevention of psychosocial challenges; Empowerment and citizen participation; Respect for human diversity; Evaluation; Social justice; Collaboration and partnerships; Wellness; Community change management.
• Orientation: Scientific-Practitioner Paradigm/Model used in community psychosocial challenges and interventions.
• Distinctive features: The programme builds on the philosophy of community practice, the application of Indigenous knowledge, and epistemic and social justice.
• Other: Practical ie. not too theoretical, and to be relevant on the ground.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AND FURTHER EDUCATION

• Career Opportunities: Community/government and private mental health centres; Universities, colleges and schools; Community therapeutic services; Management of crisis centres; Community advocacy; Research institutions; Rehabilitation facilities and Correctional services; Human and social services; Academia; Non-governmental organisations; Motivational speakers, among other careers.
• Further studies: Doctoral studies in Community Psychology and Health Psychology.

PROGRAMME DELIVERY

• Teaching and Learning Methods: Lectures, tutorials, individual/ independent study, group work, field visits, community practice, dissertation.
• Assessment and evaluation methods: Individual and group assignments, seminar/group presentations/reports, community practice reports, dissertations, field visit reports, tests, and examinations.

9. PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

 

Level 1 Semester 1	Credits
MCP 731: Foundations of Community Psychology	18
MCP 732: Psychological and Community Assessment	18
MCP 733: Community Mental Health	18
MCP 734: Critical Psychology and Indigenous Psychologies	18
MCP 735: Community Safety and Crime Prevention	18

Level 1 Semester 2	Credits
MCP 736: Community Interventions and Prevention	18
MCP 737: Advanced Research Methods & Statistics in Community Psychology	18
MCP 738: Legal and Ethical Issues in Community Psychology	18
MCP 739: Diversity in Community Contexts	18
MCP 740: Community Empowerment and Systems Change	18

Level 2 Semester 1	Credits
MCP 831: Community Practice 1	24
MCP 832: Community Project Planning and Evaluation	18
MCP 833: Advanced Psychometrics	18
MCP 834: Psychotherapy	18
MCP 835: Crisis, Coping and Social Support	18

Level 2 Semester 2	Credits
MCP 836: Community Practice 2	24
MCP 837: Health Psychology and Wellness	18
MCP 838: Dissertation	90

| Total Credits | 456 |

MODULE SYNOPSES

MCP731 Foundations of Community Psychology

The module is on the roles of extra-individual processes, such as social settings, policies and law, in understanding social contexts which shape behaviour. The focus is on: Paradigms on principles of social ecology, prevention, power, social justice, values, levels of analysis, and empowerment for a balance between personal, relational, and collective well-being; Theories and skills that promote engagement of communities in assessing and addressing problems.

MCP732 Psychological and Community Assessment

The module trains students in professional skills in community assessment within the Zimbabwean context. It covers: The nature and purpose of community needs assessment, informal assessment and therapeutic relationships, use of interviews, psychological tests in general, and interpreting, synthesising and communicating assessment findings. Also covered are various community assessment methods.

MCP733 Community Mental Health

The module provides knowledge on support and treatment of people with mental disorders in their community settings, which are more accessible and responsive rather than aggregated and isolated central/psychiatric hospitals. Analysed are services in halfway homes; partial hospitalisation; Primary care, Community mental health, and Day-centres; Self-help groups. The aim is to increase accessibility to services and lessen exclusion and stigmatisation.

MCP734 Critical Psychology and Indigenous Psychologies

The module provides critiques of ‘mainstream’ Psychology, and the application of Psychology in more progressive ways of looking at social change through Fanonian and Foucauldian mediation as a means of preventing and treating psychopathology. Topics covered are Indigenous knowledge systems, focusing on African Psychology; Nascent concepts such as decoloniality, epistemic justice, and non-essentialising treatment of the ‘African Worldview’.

MCP735 Community Safety and Crime Prevention

The module covers topics on crime prevention, control and reduction; community safety and security; the challenge of ‘community governance’ in the context of social control and social policy; analysis of traditional approaches on crime prevention and community safety; recommended contemporary approaches; and rehabilitation of prisoners.

MCP736 Community Interventions and Prevention

The module provides strategies, models, and methodologies used in the intervention and prevention of psychosocial problems such as violence, delinquency, adolescent pregnancy, substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, needs of the historically underserved and marginalised. The aim is to promote competence in communities. Emphasis is on the importance of problem definition so as to appropriately guide strategies.  

MCP737 Advanced Research Methods and Statistics in Community Psychology

The module builds on concepts covered in the Psychology undergraduate module, and now focuses on applied research in communities. It equips students with advanced knowledge and skills in triangulated research approaches; technologically-triangulated data gathering; statistical data processing.

MCP738 Legal and Ethical Issues in Community Psychology

This module covers standards of professional conduct as it applies to practice in the programme of study. It includes codes of conduct, ethical and legal decisions such as the scope of the profession, legal and ethical rights of clients, licensing laws, regulations and customs, and professional liability. Also covered are case examples, current regulations, and standards for utilizing assessment data.

MCP739 Diversity in Community Contexts

The module explores psychosocial factors behind group and individual differences, how these differences are inherited, learned and/or both, and how positive ones can be taken advantage of. Also covered are: Implications of the differences in community settings, focusing on the effects of culture, ethnicity, gender and religion on well-being. Also covered are the strengths and weaknesses of people with special needs and the requisite facilities and assistive devices

MCP740 Community Empowerment and Systems Change

The module is on psychological empowerment. Topics covered include: How perceptions of empowerment create self-identity of a community, strengthen its decision-making and collectivism, increase access to and foster a sense of community and community participation; social ecology; facilitation of first and second-order change; Theories and ideologies of empowerment; Social justice, self-help groups, and people with disabilities.

MCP831 Community Practice 1

(Before starting their practice, students must register with the Allied Health Practitioners Council of Zimbabwe in their own individual capacities).

The module provides an opportunity for students to integrate theoretical knowledge with professional practice. Students identify a community psychosocial problem, write a proposal on how to intervene, and in so doing build up and maintain a community practice file. The placement is for 15 hours per week for 15 weeks at an appropriate site approved by the Department. At the end of the semester, students submit their files for examination.

MCP832 Community Project Planning and Evaluation

Community Psychologists engage in projects to enhance the well-being of people. The module provides knowledge on the community project cycle, from the point of inception through to issues of sustainability and evaluation. Topics also covered include: Community needs assessments, outcomes and cost-effectiveness evaluation, impact analysis, and related ethical and legal issues; Investigation of current methods of evaluation of projects and services.

MCP833 Advanced Psychometrics

The module builds on and covers concepts taught in the Psychology Honours Degree Programme. However, the focus is now on the context of the specialised programme of study, with more comprehensive content being covered on psychometric tests: construction, comprehension, application, enhancement of effectiveness, and upholding principles in using the tests; Administration; Validity, reliability, standardisation, Pearson r and Spearman r.

MCP834 Psychotherapy

The module equips students with skills to address psychopathological disorders. Topics covered include psychotherapeutic interventions and other alternatives, such as biological therapies; case studies, role plays, and class exercises are used to illustrate the requisite principles. Focus is on the evaluation of psychoanalytic, individual, person-centred, existential, Gestalt behaviour, rational emotive behaviour and Cognitive Therapies.

MCP835 Crisis, Coping and Social Support

The module covers models used to help communities which are going through difficult times of disease, war, political instability, floods, and poverty, among other psychosocial problems. It builds a knowledge base of physical and psychological responsiveness to the various problems, and of how to develop support and referral networks, inclusive of enhancing resilience and coping strategies.

MCP836 Community Practice 2

(Before starting their practice, students must register with the Allied Health Practitioners Council of Zimbabwe in their own individual capacities).

The module integrates theory with professional practice. The placement is for 15 hours per week for 15 weeks at an appropriate site approved by the Department. Students: Implement intervention programme(s) in light of the project proposal submitted in Community Practice 1; document client cases; attend practicum classes once every fortnight; build up a file/report on the intervention for submission to the Department for examination at the end of the semester.

MCP837 Health Psychology and Wellness

The module explores how biology, behaviour and social context influence health and well-being. The focus is on preventing illness, effects of disease/pain, improving adherence to medical regimens and ways of reducing risky health behaviours, such as alcohol and drug abuse, smoking and risky sexual behaviours through health action approaches, behaviour therapy and applied behaviour analysis.

MCP838 Dissertation

The module provides guidelines for students on the whole research process, inclusive of how to conduct and document research. Working under the supervision of a lecturer in the Department, students plan, design, and conduct research on a topic of their interest. The topic must address current issues and the research must be in line with contemporary trends in the programme of study.

NB: This is a prospective/new programme. At the time its regulations were due for submission to ZIMCHE for accreditation, there was a call for programme regulations to be MBK-aligned.  As such, these regulations have gone through the alignment process