SCRA Book Series

Series Editor

Robin Lin Miller 

The mission of the Society for Community Research and Action Book Series is to create a publication venue that a) highlights the contributions of the field of community psychology and, more generally, community action, research, and practice; b) integrates current knowledge on pressing topics and priorities for the field; and c) offers a foundation for future directions in research and practice.

Ideally, books published within the Series should be timely (i.e., on the cutting edge of pressing issues), integrative (i.e., offering a comprehensive look at a given area informed by multiple vantage points), and generative (i.e., providing a platform on which future research and practice pursuits can build). These three criteria will inform which projects are approved as well as publishing priorities from year to year.

An overarching goal is to create a “go to” series for a wide audience including students, practitioners, researchers, community members, and policy makers interested in advances in understanding complex social issues, innovative social interventions, and other approaches to bringing about positive forms of social change in individuals, organizations, communities and public policy.

Current Books in the Series

Community Power and Empowerment

Brian D. Christens

Many people want to help bring about changes in their neighborhoods, workplaces, and communities. Leaders and scholars of change efforts are likewise eager for insights into what makes some organizations and coalitions capable of building and exercising power. Why are some groups successful in making changes in policies and systems and in sustaining their momentum over time, while others struggle or never really get off the ground?

With Community Power and Empowerment, Brian D. Christens brings the most comprehensive analysis of empowerment theory yet conducted to bear on these questions, taking aim at many of the longstanding weaknesses and ambiguities of empowerment theory, research, and practice. For example, one major hindrance is that most notions of empowerment have not been coherently connected with community power. In addition, research has emphasized psychological aspects of empowerment over organizational processes, and has neglected community empowerment processes to an even greater extent. By linking empowerment and community power, Christens constructs a holistic framework for assessing and comparing community-driven change efforts. This book offers new guidance for inquiries into outcomes and impacts of empowerment processes on health and well-being, providing a resource for researchers, organizational leaders, practitioners, and anyone interested in collective action for change.

Edited by John Sylvestre, Geoffrey Nelson, and Tim Aubry

Housing has emerged as a popular and central topic of research, mental health system development, and social and mental health policy in recent years. The field has rapidly evolved in a number of ways: first, with the introduction and popularization of the Housing First approach; second, there are now a growing number of randomized controlled studies to evaluate the lives of people living in this housing; and third, there is increasing recognition of housing as a cornerstone of mental health policy and community mental health systems.

Housing, Citizenship, and Communities for People with Serious Mental Illness provides the first comprehensive overview of the field. The book covers theory, research, practice, and policy issues related to the provision of housing and the supports that people rely on to get and keep their housing. A special focus is given to issues of citizenship and community life as key outcomes for people with serious mental illness who live in community housing. The book is grounded in the values, research traditions, and conceptual tools of community psychology. This provides a unique lens through which to view the field. It emphasizes housing not only as a component of community mental health systems but also as an instrument for promoting citizenship, social inclusion, social justice, and the empowerment of marginalized people. It serves as a resource for researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers looking for up-to-date reviews and perspectives on this field, as well as a sourcebook for current and future research and practice trends.

Diverse Careers in Community Psychology

Edited by Judah J. Viola and Olya Glantsman

Community psychology is a diverse field. Community psychologists may work for the government, for nonprofit foundations, as researchers or teachers in academic settings, at NGOs, as independent consultants, overseas in international development, and more. Despite such professional diversity, very little information has formally been made available to students and practitioners about the range of careers they can pursue when studying community psychology. 

Diverse Careers in Community Psychology details a range of potential career paths for someone with community psychology or related social science training, describes the different types of careers (e.g., tasks involved, benefits and challenges, salary range, etc.), and outlines steps one can take to develop such a career. The volume is built on three foundations: (1) a career survey of almost 450 respondents, which provides quantitative information about the different types of settings in which individuals with community psychology training might find themselves; (2) more than twenty chapters by contributors who share their personal stories and guidance on how to select, prepare for, find, and succeed in careers similar to theirs; (3) and interviews with community psychologists, further illustrating examples discussed in the authored chapters. This volume provides both a depth and breadth of information about the possible careers available for someone with community psychology or related training.

Influencing Social Policy: Applied Psychology Serving the Public Interest

 

Kenneth I. Maton

"As president of the William T. Grant Foundation I met many social scientists who hoped their work would be useful to policymakers. But they had few models for how that might happen. Ken Maton's thoughtful analysis fills that important gap." --Robert C. Granger, EdD, Past-President, William T. Grant Foundation

 

 

 

Community Psychology and Community Mental Health: Towards Transformative Change

Edited by Geoffrey Nelson, Bret Kloos, and José Ornelas

"This volume both respects the history of the community mental health movement and points it to a more revolutionary future. It's the most exciting, energizing book about community mental health to appear in years." --Keith Humphreys, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, Stanford University

 

 

 

 

Principles of Social Change

Leonard A. Jason

"Jason shares with us his life-long journey to empirically address and reduce negative social forces. He presents his own cogent insights as well as the wisdom of others. The book gives us concrete steps, hope, and a resolve to redress social injustices while we aspire for a more coherent and just world." -- James G. Kelly, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago

 

Forthcoming Books in the Series

 

Book Authors, Editors, & Structure

The Book Series will consider the following types of volumes:  single- and multiple-authored books (i.e., those in which the same author or set of authors write all or at least most of the chapters) and edited books. Edited books should be of such a length that they could not be considered as possible candidates for an American Journal of Community Psychology (AJCP) special issue (typically, 300 double-spaced manuscript pages or fewer).  Such books should also have a level of integration that would typically be characterized by a single- or multi-authored book. Sole and co-authored books are preferred over edited books. Brief, edited, multi-chapter volumes will not be considered.

Series authors/editors may include non-SCRA members, but the content should reflect the values and the scope of the field. Thus, a broad range of community research and action offerings are invited and encouraged. We hope the Series will be turned to by those in a variety of disciplines, both as a contributing source and as an outlet for their work. 

All books, whether single/multi-authored or edited, must cohere and “tell a story.” They should be integrated and reflect the complexity of the topic, while equally serving the mission of the Series, and provide helpful frameworks for action in the community. Sole and co-authored books of this series can include ashort book option (similar to a monograph). This allows author(s) to pursue a topic of interest with more space than a manuscript allows, but does not require a book of a more traditional length. This format lends itself to timely and cost effective distribution and we believe is a desirable addition to the publication outlets currently available in the field. 

Given the wide range of topics likely to be pursued in the Series, coherence will be achieved primarily through a shared structure. We hope such a planful structure will set some expectations regarding what readers anticipate in each book and also create a common vision for what each book in the Series will accomplish. In particular, we would like each book to address three major areas: a) an integrative literature review that will compile existing work in the field of interest and/or revisit past literature in an integrative fashion; b) current conceptualizations or challenges that extend existing research and/or practice; and c) a foundation for new approaches and implications for research, policy, practice, and action. Thus, it is our hope that all books in the Series will be grounded in existing knowledge, seek new horizons, and make clear the practical implications of the knowledge offered.

Proposal Process

Books are invited and proposed. The Book Series editors will generate topics of interest in consultation with the Editorial Board and the publisher, where applicable. Authors/Editors may be invited to consider a topic and generate a proposal (proposal requirements are detailed below). In addition, the Book Series Editors make a “general call” for proposals at least annually (and more frequently if necessary) to invite proposals from the general membership of SCRA periodically.

All potential book editors and authors will be asked to submit a prospectus using a particular format (this may be edited based on the specific needs of a chosen publisher). See the Prospectus Outline. 

As discussed earlier, books included in the Series can address a particular social issue, an intervention approach, methodological issues (in research and/or practice), ethics, and/or implementation (in research and/or practice). There is no limit to what will be considered, but the topic must address facets of Community Research and Action as defined by a commitment to understanding people in the contexts in which they live, work and play and in doing so with an orientation to collaborative and/or participatory research and practice.

Editors

Robin Lin Miller
Department of Psychology 
316 Physics Rd., Rm 262
East Lansing, MI 48824
(517) 432-3267
mill1493@msu.edu

 

Series Advisory Board

Nicole Allen
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Valerie Anderson
University of Cincinnati

Anne Bogat 
Michigan State University

Scotney Evans
University of Miami

Shabnam Javdani
New York University 

Brett Kloos
University of South Carolina

Kien Lee
Community Science

Eric Mankowski 
Portland State University

Ken Maton 
University of Maryland Baltimore County

Jose Ornelas 
University Institute, Lisbon, Portugal 

Blanca Ortiz-Torres 
University of Puerto-Rico, Río Piedras

Isaac Prilleltensky 
University of Miami

Manuel Riemer 
Wilfred Laurier University

Bernadette Sanchez 
DePaul University

Marybeth Shinn 
Vanderbilt University

Nathan Todd 
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Judah Viola 
National Louis University

Roderick Watts 
City University of New York and Action Research Associates

Bianca Wilson 
University of California Los Angeles