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

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.

Lillian Comas-Díaz, PhD, is a psychologist in private practice in Washington, DC, the Executive Director of the Transcultural Mental Health Institute, and a Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at George Washington University. She is the recipient of the American Psychological Association (APA) Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Practice of Psychology, and a Past President of APA Division 42 (Psychologists in Independent Practice). Dr. Comas-Díaz is the coeditor of Liberation Psychology, Latina Psychologists: Thriving in the Cultural Borderlands, Womanist and Mujerista Psychologies, Multicultural Care, and Psychological Health of Women of Color.

Hector Y. Adames, PsyD, received his doctorate in clinical psychology from Wright State University in Ohio and completed his doctoral internship at the Boston University School of Medicine's Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology. He is a licensed psychologist, professor at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Chicago Campus, and cofounder and codirector of the IC-RACE Lab (Immigration Critical Race and Cultural Equity Lab). He has earned several awards, including the 2018 Distinguished Emerging Professional Research Award from The Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, and Race, a Division of APA. Dr. Adames has coauthored several books including Speaking the Unspoken, Succeeding as a Therapist, Ethics in Psychotherapy and Counseling, and Cultural Foundations and Interventions in Latino Mental Health. Follow Dr. Adames on Twitter, Instagram, and Spoutible or visit the IC-RACE Lab. 

Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas, PhD, received her doctorate in clinical psychology from the APA-accredited program at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. She is a professor at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology (TCSPP), where she serves as the faculty coordinator for the concentration in Latinx mental health in the counseling psychology department. She is the co-director of the IC-RACE Lab (Immigration, Critical Race, and Cultural Equity Lab). She has earned several awards, including the 2018 APA Distinguished Citizen Psychologist Award. Dr. Chave-Dueñas has coauthored several books including Speaking the Unspoken, Succeeding as a Therapist, Ethics in Psychotherapy and Counseling, and Cultural Foundations and Interventions in Latino Mental Health. Follow Dr. Chavez-Dueñas on Twitter, Instagram, and Spoutible at or visit the IC-RACE Lab. 

Dedication
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
Hector Y. Adames, Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas, and Lillian Comas-Díaz

Part I. History and Knowledge

Chapter 1. Engaging with Decoloniality, Decolonization, and Histories of Psychology Otherwise
Sunil Bhatia, Wahbie Long, Wade Pickren, and Alexandra Rutherford

Chapter 2. Naming and Unlearning Psychological Coloniality
Cristalís Capielo Rosario, Eduardo Lugo-Hernández, and Loíza A. DeJesús Sullivan

Chapter 3. Colonial Mentality: Manifestations, Operations, and Psychological Implications
Hannah L. Rebadulla, Jonathan U. Guerrero, and E. J. R. David

Part II. Science, Methods, and Epistemic Justice 

Chapter 4. Decolonizing Psychological Sciences for Liberation
Helen A. Neville, B. Andi Lee, and Amir H. Maghsoodia

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

Chapter 6. Disciplinary Disruptions: Strategies toward a Decolonial Community Psychology Praxis
Jesica Siham Fernández

Chapter 7. Decolonizing Praxis in a Transnational Feminist Commons: Epistemic Justice and the Fragile Bridge Between the Academy and Social Movements
Adreanne Ormond, Puleng Segalo, María 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. Castañeda-Sound, Miguel Gallardo, and Susana O. Salgado

Chapter 10. The Decolonial Mentoring Framework: Advancing an Anticolonial Future in Psychology and Beyond
Mackenzie T. Goertz, Hector Y. Adames, Chelsea Parker, Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas, Radia Mchabcheb, and Jessica G. Perez-Chavez

Chapter 11. Wise Face, Firm Heart: Ethics and Decolonial Psychology
Melinda A. García

Part IV. Psychotherapies  

Chapter 12. Decolonial Psychotherapy: Joining the Circle, Healing the Wound
Lillian Comas-Díaz and Frederick M. Jacobsen

Chapter 13. 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 14. Decolonizing Feminist Therapy
Thema Bryant-Davis, Carolyn Zerbe Enns, and Yuying Tsong

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

Chapter 15. Moving Psychology Toward Anticolonial Queer Futures
Della V. Mosley, Pearis Bellamy, Brittany Bridges, Maria Sobrino, Jeannette Mejia, Sunshine Adam, Garrett Ross, and Roberto Abreu

Chapter 16. 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