Decolonial Psychology
Toward Anticolonial Theories, Research, Training, and Practice

Lillian Comas-Díaz (Edited by), Hector Y. Adames (Edited by), Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas (Edited by)

9781433838521

Paperback / softback, published 23 January 2024

430 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.7 cm, 0.61 kg

This book is explosive in the way that fireworks are explosive it dazzles with its fire, it illuminates dark places in psychology, it celebrates the light towards which we can all go. At a time when our discipline is teetering on the precipice where we can choose to go backwards towards the Eurocentric frameworks that have defined and restrained psychology since its inception, or allow ourselves to have the courage to join in the liberatory project of decolonizing our understanding of humans in every setting, through all possible intersectional lenses, this volume is our guidebook to the territory of this emerging, powerful paradigm. Essential reading for all of us for those, like myself, decades in the field for those who teach and train and do research for those offering healing. Brava/o to editors and authors alike. - Laura S. Brown, PhD, ABPP, independent practice; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle; and past president of APA Divisions 35, 44, 56 and Washington State Psychological Association Comas-D amp iacute az, Adames, and Chavez-Due amp ntilde as have aptly responded to an urgent call to examine past and current impacts of colonization on the discipline of psychology. The authors, in this significant volume, provide compelling information that is the basis for a sea change in how we approach theory, research, teaching, and practice. The authors amp rsquo rich examples bring to life the profound problems of colonization as well as the profound potential for decolonial psychology. - Pratyusha (Usha) Tummala-Narra, PhD, Boston University, Boston, MA Few disciplines have taken the recent challenges of decolonization and the decolonial turn more seriously than the branches of psychology in the Global South that explore the linkages between subjectivity, community, and social life. Yet, the task is barely starting. Building on the work of figures like the famed psychiatrist and revolutionary fighter, Frantz Fanon, among others, the editors and authors in this book seek to further illuminate the path of decolonization, anticolonialism, and decoloniality in the contemporary world. The anthology provides invaluable resources in the effort to infuse psychology with decolonial transdisciplinary approaches, thereby taking psychology beyond its modern-colonial horizons. An essential reference for anyone heeding the call to consider decolonization as an unfinished project and as an imperative today. - Nelson Maldonado-Torres, PhD, University of Connecticut, Storrs

This book offers an expert synthesis of the scholarly literature on approaches to decolonial psychology, its historical foundations, education and training, and psychological practice.

From its inception, psychological science and practice in the United States has been framed predominantly by Eurocentric epistemologies. As a result, oppressed people have internalized the belief that their culture and values are inferior to those of dominant groups. Infusing a decolonial lens into psychology is one way for the field to become more inclusive and relevant to the numerical majority worldwide. 

Decolonial psychology creates space and methods for oppressed and impoverished communities to radically imagine their existence outside of the superimposed borders of coloniality, neoliberalism, racism, and other systems of oppression. It emphasizes how people's subjectivity and connections to diverse social groups are influenced by history, context, and oppression how these populations actively resist and survive attacks on their humanity and how knowledge production is shaped not only by how data is interpreted but also by the questions asked.

The chapters in this book provide an opportunity for readers to deepen their understanding of how colonization and coloniality impacted knowledge creation in society and the field of psychology, including thought-provoking resources that explore the subject matter. The book also underscores how coloniality continues to reverberate in many aspects of psychology today. Collectively, the authors invite readers to resist engaging in psycolonization by generating ideas and pathways to help reclaim, honor, and celebrate Indigenous ways of knowing and being. The volume offers guidance on methods to disrupt psycolonization and its epistemic violence, helping to provide a roadmap to decolonial psychology and anticolonial futures. 
 
It is time to confront the limitations of mainstream psychology. This book will help psychologists at all levels anchor their research, teaching, and practice in decolonial methods and practices.

Contributors 

Series Foreword
Frederick T. L. Leong

Foreword
Gayle Skawen:nio Morse and Marie C. Weil

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Decoloniality as a Transformative Force in Psychology: An Orientation to This Book
Hector Y. Adames, Nayeli Y. Chavez-Due amp ntilde as, and Lillian Comas-D amp iacute az

Part I. History and Knowledge

Chapter . Colonial Mentality: Manifestations, Operations, and Psychological Implications
Hannah L. Rebadulla, Jonathan U. Guerrero, and E. J. R. David

Chapter 2. Naming and Unlearning Psychological Coloniality
Cristal amp iacute s Capielo Rosario, Eduardo Lugo-Hern amp aacute ndez, and Lo amp iacute za A. DeJes amp uacute s Sullivan

Chapter 3. Engaging With Decoloniality, Decolonization, and Histories of Psychology Otherwise
Sunil Bhatia, Wahbie Long, Wade Pickren, and Alexandra Rutherford

Part II. Science, Methods, and Epistemic Justice 

Chapter 4. Decolonizing and Building Liberatory Psychological Sciences
Helen A. Neville, B. Andi Lee, and Amir H. Maghsoodi

Chapter 5. Beyond Decolonization: Anticolonial Methodologies for Indigenous Futurity in Psychological Research 
Jillian Fish and Joseph P. Gone

Chapter . Disciplinary Disruptions: Strategies Toward a Decolonial Community Psychology Praxis
Jesica Siham Fern amp aacute ndez

Chapter 7. Decolonizing in a Transnational Feminist Commons Perched Precariously Between the Academy and Movements for Justice
Adreanne Ormond, Puleng Segalo, Mar amp iacute a Elena Torre, and Michelle Fine

Part III. Education, Professional Training, and Mentoring
 
Chapter 8. Decolonizing the High School and Undergraduate Curriculum
Edil Torres Rivera and Ivelisse Torres Fernandez

Chapter 9. Unlearning Colonial Practices and (Re)envisioning Graduate Education in Psychology 
Carrie L. Casta amp ntilde eda-Sound, Miguel Gallardo, and Susana O. Salgado

Chapter . The Decolonial Mentoring Framework: Advancing an Anticolonial Future in Psychology and Beyond
Mackenzie T. Goertz, Hector Y. Adames, Chelsea Parker, Nayeli Y. Chavez-Due amp ntilde as, Radia DeLuna​, and Jessica G. Perez-Chavez

Chapter . Wise Face, Firm Heart: Ethics and Decolonial Psychology
Melinda A. Garc amp iacute a

Part IV. Psychotherapies  

Chapter 2. Decolonial Psychotherapy: Joining the Circle, Healing the Wound
Lillian Comas-D amp iacute az and Frederick M. Jacobsen

Chapter 3. Decolonizing Psychoanalysis: Anti-Blackness, Coloniality, and a New Premise for Psychoanalytic Treatment
Daniel Jose Gaztambide, Fabo Feliciano-Graniela, Jose Luiggi-Hernandez, and Edlyane Veronica Medina Escobar 

Chapter 4. Decolonizing Feminist Therapy
Thema Bryant, Carolyn Zerbe Enns, and Yuying Tsong

Part V. Queer Futures, Self-Care, and Community Care 

Chapter 5. Moving Psychology Toward Anticolonial Queer Futures
Della V. Mosley, Pearis L. Jean, Brittany Bridges, Maria Sobrino, Jeannette Mejia, Sunshine Adam, Garrett Ross, and Roberto Abreu

Chapter . Your Self-Care Is Made of Capitalism: A Decolonial Approach to Self and Community Care
Arianne E. Miller and Nellie Tran

Index
About the Editors