Encyclopedia of Psychology Alan E. Kazdin, PhD, Editor-in-Chief
PUBLIC SERVICE
History of Public Service
...After World War II the demand for mental-health services and psychotherapy for military personnel increased dramatically and unexpectedly, fundamentally altering roles for clinical psychologists. In response to this demand, the Veterans Administration (VA) became the largest employer of psychologists and emphasized psychotherapy in unprecedented ways. Such psychotherapy, while effective, reaches only a small portion of those in need
...In 1979, the opportunities for psychology’s public service mission were also echoed by past president Charles Kiesler, who said:
I dream of psychological knowledge playing an integral role in all national policies affecting human beings. . . . There should be. . . a psychologist on the advisory board of every mental health center.. . , on every board of every state health planning agency, on every governor’s science advisory council, and on local advisory units of every member of Congress. . . . I see psychology, then, as a national force for the future.
...This passion for a psychology in the public interest continues today and is reaffirmed in the words of its past president, Martin Seligman: “We believe that America today is entering a world-historical moment. . . . Our vision is that psychology in the twenty-first century will move from being solely a remedial profession to being a positive social force.”
...Community psychologists share the conviction that psychology should be used to promote public welfare and that psychologists should reach out to everyone in their own communities.