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== Pine Ledge ==
The '''International Society of Critical Health Psychology''' is a society devoted to debate about [[critical psychology| critical ideas]] within [[health psychology]].
Pine Ledge is a remote section of Cockaponset State Forest located about a half mile west of Deep River, Connecticut. This area gets it's name from a dramatic ledge of rocks along it's eastern edge.
==History==
In July 1999, the '''First International Conference on Critical and Qualitative Approaches to Health Psychology''' was held in [[St. John's]], Newfoundland, Canada. Over 120 [[health psychology| critical health psychologists]] from 20 countries and every continent on the globe attended the conference. It was agreed that there was an urgent need to establish a network to begin to connect those [[health psychology| health psychologists]] throughout the world who were interested in developing a more critical approach to the subject.
'''Recreation'''
In August 2001, the Second International Conference was held in [[Birmingham]], UK. At this conference, it was decided to establish the '''International Society of Critical Health Psychology'''.
It is recommended to have a high-clearance vehicle when visiting this area; the access roads are very rugged and may become thick with mud after a heavy rain or during the spring melt. Even though the use of all-terrain-vehicles has not been officially designated, the Pine Ledge area has become very popular among local riders. Jeeps and 4X4 off-road vehicles have also utilized some of the old abandoned access roads as trails. There are some hiking trails used primarily by the locals and a popular rock climbing destination along the rocks at Pine Ledge.
==Aims==
The society has three primary aims:
* To promote increased debate about critical ideas, [[qualitative]] and [[participatory action research| participatory research]] methods, and social, political and cultural issues within [[health psychology]].
* To facilitate contact and collaboration between [[health psychology| critical health psychologists]].
* To promote the development of resources and training opportunities in [[health psychology| critical health psychology]].
Members of the society espouse a variety of theoretical and methodological viewpoints. However, as with other [[critical psychology| critical psychologists]], they share a common dissatisfaction with the positivist assumptions of much of mainstream psychology and its ignorance of broader social and political issues. Instead, they share an interest in various critical ideas (e.g. [[social constructionism]], [[post-modernism]], [[feminism]], [[marxism]], etc.) and various [[qualitative]] and [[participatory action research| participatory methods of research]] (e.g. [[discourse analysis]], [[grounded theory]], [[action research]], [[ethnography]], etc.) and their relevance to understanding health and illness. Further, they share an awareness of the social, political and cultural dimensions of health and illness (e.g. poverty, [[racism]], [[sexism]], political oppression, etc.) and an active commitment to reducing human suffering and promoting improved quality of life, especially among those sections of society most in need.
: Connecticut Explorer's Guide [http://www.ctxguide.com/ctxguide_044.htm Pine Ledge Climbing Map]
==Membership==
The society has members throughout the world. In 2006 it had approximately 200 members in over 25 countries.
==Conferences==
The society organizes a biennial conference. These conferences have been held in [[St. John's]], Newfoundland (1999), [[Birmingham]], UK (2001), [[Auckland]], New Zealand (2003), [[Sheffield]], UK (2005) and the fifth will be held in [[Boston]], USA in 2007.
* [http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521005264 Lyons, A., & Chamberlain, K. (2006). ''Health psychology: A critical introduction''. Cambridge University Press.]
* [http://www.palgrave.com/products/Catalogue.aspx?is=033399034X Murray, M. (ed) (2004). ''Critical health psychology''. Palgrave Macmillan.]
== External links ==
* [http://www.ischp.org/ International Society of Critical Health Psychology web site]
* [http://wwwischp2007.org Fifth Biennial ISCHP Conference]
[[Category:Psychology societies]]
[[Category:Learned societies]]
[[Category:Scientific societies]]
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