I’m proud to be the president of an organization that represents 146,000 psychologists while advancing psychology’s impact and horizons in the global arena. If we are going to be ethical in our approach to global psychology, we must address context. This means paying attention to history, politics, power, and culture.
Too many of our training programs are exclusively centered on the United States and either never mention other nations or overgeneralize findings from the United States to other nations. Let’s broaden psychology’s horizons and expand the potential impact of our research, practice, teaching, and applied interventions by engaging with international psychology and embracing decolonial psychology.
Highlighting decolonial psychology is one of my presidential initiatives. Decolonial psychology asks us to consider not just the life history of the individual we are working with but also the history of the various collective groups they are a part of, whether that is their nationality, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, or disability. The past informs the present. It is necessary to acknowledge and honor the past if we are to truly see people as whole beings.
Decolonial psychology also calls for an appreciation for indigenous science. We need cultural humility and recognition that the traditional field of psychology is not the only source of knowledge or healing. We need to study, assess, and appropriately apply wisdom and practices that emerge from Indigenous cultures.
We also need psychology to help shift systems and institutions as well as individuals and families. Increasing our consciousness of this is not only necessary for our patients but for ourselves as professionals. We must note how systems and institutions affect the well-being of individuals and look for ways to shift those macrolevel structures so they enhance—instead of impede—human flourishing. Once we make note of how these structures operate, we must choose to advocate for change. For us to promote optimal living we must address the human rights of all people including those who have been disenfranchised.
Finally, decolonial psychology requires an expansion beyond thought, feelings, and behavior. We must be holistic, which means countering our field’s pervasive neglect of the body and spirit. Embodied healing and integration of people’s faith, religion, and/or spirituality is essential for the advancement of the field.
I hope you will join me in embracing a decolonial approach to our field that seeks to humanize, appreciate, and activate people to grow and thrive. This commitment includes a dedication to both dismantling systems of oppression and promoting liberation individually and collectively.
