United Nations needs help from psychology

Psychologists are poised to take on U.N. roles as advocates for their countries, human rights and social change.

By Bridget Murray
Monitor staff

Psychologists have been so focused on people?s deficits that they?ve largely ignored the social problems that underlie those deficits?problems such as poverty, lack of health care and inadequate educational systems, a psychologist said in an International Congress speech, echoing APA President Martin E.P. Seligman?s call for a more proactive psychology.

'While social change is a basic mandate of the United Nations (U.N.) unfortunately, social activism is a generally unknown role to most psychologists,' said social psychologist Patricia Licuanan, PhD, in the International Congress session 'Psychology and global transformation through the United Nations.'

According to Licuanan, who chaired the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women for the 1995 U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, psychologists largely haven?t recognized their potential roles in global social policy-making or geared their education and training for such work. But as psychology shifts its focus from treating the problems of the individual to preventing the problems of many, Licuanan sees the potential for psychology to become a partner in U.N. work, 'instead of a mere spectator.' Psychologists are poised to make global contributions because they offer skills in resolving conflict, changing behaviors and attitudes that lead to violence, defining human rights and empowering oppressed groups, said Licuanan, president of Miriam College in the Philippines.

She attributes psychologists? limited participation in the U.N. largely to uncertainty, doubt or lack of knowledge about how they can contribute. To clear up the mysteries and encourage their participation, she outlined several U.N. roles for psychologists. They include serving as:

? Consultants or experts, conducting research, writing background assessments of issues or problems and position papers on ways research can inform policy and practice or designing development programs for U.N. agencies, at the local, national or regional level. Their roles are not so much as psychologists, per se, but instead social scientists working alongside other social scientists. Psychologists can also work as regular staff managing programs or coordinating work for a U.N. agency like the United Nations Children?s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

? Advocates, lobbying for specific social issues, such as promoting the welfare of women migrant workers, advancing peace or stopping violence against children .

? National representatives, speaking for their governments in international meetings and promoting their countries? positions on global issues.

? Chairs of a U.N. body, leading U.N. committees on global issues such as urban problems, population and development or human rights.

All these roles require psychologists to deal with different groups of people, said Licuanan, which requires that psychologists shift their focus in several ways:

? Be more interdisciplinary and attuned to other social sciences.

? Become comfortable with macro-level discussion and thinking, framing your theories and research in the context of the global picture.

? Relinquish personal claim to your work. The U.N. is largely an anonymous organization, where only the secretary general gets name recognition. But the satisfaction of your achievements and contributions is still yours, said Licuanan.

? Be prepared to work quickly, to write focused, problem-oriented reports rather than lengthy academic manuscripts.

? Know the U.N.?s political organization, issues and policies. Become familiar with government delegations and government missions. Working with such groups, psychologists will help transform the world?s policies, people and organizations for the better, said Licuanan.

For more information on involvement with the U.N. and its various agencies, visit its web site at http://www.un.org, or e-mail Corann Okorodudu, EdD, of Rowan University, who represents APA?s Div. 9 (Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues), at the U.N.