A social historical note on the formal emergence of community psychology

Recent interviews of 15 eminent community psychologists, 6 of whom attended the founding conference at Swampscott, highlighted some historically significant aspects of community psychology's emergence and provided background information concerning the conference's processes and content. The interview informants described the idealism of the era in the context of societal unrest, the struggle with psychiatrists' control of extant mental health services, and the uncertain role of a community orientation within academic psychology as key social historical factors. The informants identified some of the behind-the-scenes preparations for Swampscott as well as the conference climate and emergent ideology. The report concludes with a note on the historical status of women in the subdiscipline.