Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice

Volume 17, No. 1

Published October 15, 2026

Issue description

Editor's Note

Dear Authors and Readers,

We return from a short hiatus with renewed conviction that the work of building, studying, and strengthening communities has never been more important. This issue features four articles spanning the breadth of community psychology practice from critical theory to program evaluation, and from participatory storytelling to systems-level capacity building.

 

A rapid review examines decolonial and critical approaches to community wellbeing and mental health, making the case for culturally responsive, social justice-oriented strategies that center marginalized communities' own knowledge. A community-based participatory action research study uses digital storytelling to show how a public living room in a highly deprived area fostered belonging, trust, and measurable improvements in mental health and self-worth, reminding us that warm, nonjudgmental spaces can be transformative even as funding for community initiatives declines. An outcome evaluation of a CBT-based hoarding program finds significant improvement in living conditions when one-on-one case management is combined with peer-led group intervention. And a five-year evaluation of a Maternal and Child Health capacity-building program tracks how three state teams grew capacity through cross-agency collaborative partnerships involving shared resources and joint projects.

 

What connects these contributions is an attention to structure and context — who defines wellbeing, where interventions happen, and what partnerships need to be in place for programs to succeed. Together, they reflect our field's commitment to both rigor and relevance.

Sincerely, 

Olya Glantsman, Ph.D.
DePaul University
Director, MS & BA/MS in Community Psychology Programs
Coordinator, Undergraduate Concentration in Community Psychology
Editor-in-Chief, Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice
editor@gjcpp.org

Articles

  1. Author photos (Left to right): Ramy Barhouche, Hana Masud, Melody Morton Ninomiya

    Ramy Barhouche, Hana Masud, Melody E. Morton Ninomiya

    Decolonial and Critical Approaches to Community Wellbeing and Mental Health: A Rapid Review

    Introduction: This rapid review explores decolonial and critical approaches to community wellbeing and mental health (CWMH) in existing literature to provide insights into addressing CWMH disparities in Indigenous, racialized, and Global South communities.

    Methods: The study employed a rapid review method to expedite gathering, screening, and analyzing relevant literature. Data synthesis and analysis involved thematic analysis of extracted information from the documents that met inclusion criteria.

    Results: Analysis included 18 documents published between 2005 and 2023, reporting on interventions in nine countries. The thematic analysis findings highlighted the importance of incorporating decolonial and critical perspectives in CWMH initiatives to address systemic disparities, shared the different types of interventions, and recommendations and lessons learned.

    Discussion: This study explores the transformative potential of decolonial and critical approaches in community wellbeing and mental health. It highlights the importance of centering marginalized communities’ knowledge and adopting social justice-oriented strategies. By promoting inclusive, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed interventions, these frameworks offer promising pathways to address systemic inequalities and foster holistic CWMH.

  2. Katie Voss, Lealah Hewitt-Johns, Stephen Minton, Pete Keohane, Eric Hewes

    Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR) using Digital Stories to Explore People's Experience of Using a Public Living Room

     For decades, community psychologists have evidenced the positive impact of community belonging on people's health. However, we have seen a vast reduction in funding for community initiatives. I partnered with a community arts hub that offers a public living room in a highly deprived area. Utilising a community-based participatory action research design (CBPAR), we used digital storytelling to explore the impact of the public living room (PLR) on people's lives. We used reflexive thematic analysis to interpret the nine stories. Co-analysing the data showed that offering a ‘welcoming environment’ (i.e., a ‘non-judgemental’, “safe space” which had ‘boundaries’ and accessible “free food”) fostered a ‘chance to belong to a community’ (i.e., enabling participants to “give back to the community”, build ‘trust within the relationship’ and  ‘connections’, helping them to discover that they were ‘not alone’ and ‘people care about [them]’); thus helping them to “change their [my] life” (i.e., from a “circle of shit” to giving them “purpose” and “opportunities” which improved their “mental health” and ‘self-worth’). Recommendations are offered regarding ways of promoting a warm environment, creating relationships with the community and opportunities to develop connections.

  3. Author photo (Left to right): Audrey Hodgins, Chioma Obiakor, Gregory Saxe, Tim Aubry

    Audrey Hodgins, Chioma Obiakor, Gregory Saxe, Tim Aubry

    Evaluating the Outcomes of a CBT-Based Hoarding Disorder Program in Improving Living Conditions

    An outcome evaluation was conducted on a CBT-based hoarding program. This program integrates one-on-one case management with the Buried in Treasures (BIT) group, a peer-led CBT intervention, for people in permanent supportive housing at risk of losing their homes due to hoarding. Results for 13 clients indicate a significant improvement in living conditions (p = 0.016) with a moderate effect (d = 0.776) after participating in the program. Additionally, results suggest that combining both individual and group interventions may be more effective than case management alone. These findings have important implications for the design of future hoarding disorder interventions.

  4. Susan M. Wolfe, PhD, Ann Webb Price, PhD, Sandy Perkins, MS, RD, LD, Karen L. Probert, MS, RDN

    Promoting Maternal and Child Health Through Intra- and Inter-State Partnerships

    Partnerships provide a variety of expertise, perspectives, and resources to tackle complex public health problems. This article shares evaluation results from a program to build capacity among three participating states to achieve their Maternal and Child Health goals through partnership development with other state agencies and external organizations. Data were collected quarterly from each participating state agency using a standardized form. The study used a mixed-methods design. This article covers the project period September 1, 2020, through May 31, 2025. Himmelman’s levels of collaboration (networking, coordination, cooperation, collaboration) were used as the analytic framework. Initially state teams reported they had existing relationships with 23 non-state and 12 state organizations and new relationships with 51 non-state and 14 state organizations, or a total of 65 new relationships. By the end of Year 5, the three state teams reported engaging with 74 non-state and 26 state organizations, for a total of 100. Of the 100 organizations, by Year 5, 32 never went beyond networking; 15 reached the coordination level; 24 were engaged in cooperative engagements and 29 were engaged in full collaboration where there were shared resources and ongoing projects and work. The partnerships demonstrated advantages and led to collaborative projects and product development. They increased collaboration among state agencies and led to two-way partnerships with community-based and other organizations. Partnership development required dedicated staff who could allocate the time and effort needed for successful and productive engagement.