Compare and Contrast Essay Outline
1. Introduction
a. This essay outlines similarities and the differences of community psychology and
public health approaches to social problems. This is done by comparing strengths
and weaknesses of both approaches, as well as similarities between these
approaches. To compare these two concepts, one should first have a basic
understanding of the origins and historical development of community psychology
and public health.
b. There are two major models of community psychology: the mental health model
and the social action model. The location of mental illness, according to the mental
health model, is at the method of interaction between individual and environmental
factors.
c. The social action model places the location of mental illness within oppressive and
exploitative social and economic structures. Public health, like community
psychology, focuses on prevention of disease. While community psychology
concerns itself more with mental health issues and behavioral aspects of health
(such as promiscuity, drug use, etc.), public health seems to focus more on
traditional health issues, such as communicable diseases (like HIV/AIDS, T.B.,
