Liberation Psychology Theory, Method, Practice, and Social Justice

by Comas-Díaz, Lillian; Torres Rivera, Edil

• ISBN13: 9781433832086
• ISBN10: 1433832089
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2020-07-28
• Publisher: American Psychological Association

Summary

This book guides readers through the origins, development, and key concepts of liberation psychology; its methods, including participatory action research; its manifestation in clinical practice; its potential future applications; and its relation to social activism and social justice movements.

Liberation psychology challenges traditional Western‑based psychology by offering an emancipatory approach to understanding and addressing oppression among individuals and groups. This book provides an understanding of liberation psychology that enhances the work of all students, researchers, and practitioners in psychology by raising awareness of discrimination, inequality, and issues related to intersectionality; affirming cultural identities; fighting oppression; and promoting social change to help alleviate human suffering and support fairness, equality, and justice.

The insights provided into liberation psychology's concepts of critical consciousness, empowerment, and social justice action can enhance the well‑being of individuals and improve lives.

Author Biography

Lillian Comas-Diaz, PhD, is a clinical psychologist in private practice and a clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at George Washington University. The author of over a hundred publications, Dr. Comas-Díaz is also the coeditor of Latina Psychologists: Thriving in the Cultural Borderlands, Womanist and Mujerista Psychologies, and Psychological Health of Women of Color. Dr. Comas-Díaz is the founding editor of Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology,the official journal of the Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues (Division 45 of the American Psychological Association). She is an associate editor of the American Psychologist.

Edil Torres Rivera, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Counseling, Educational Leadership, Educational and School Psychology; and Director of the Latinx Studies program at Wichita State University, Kansas. His primary research focuses include complexity and the use of indigenous healing techniques as a necessary element in psychological work with ethnic minority populations in the United States. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology and is the editor of the Interamerican Journal of Psychology. Visit https://etorresrivera.wixsite.com/elmaestro

Table of Contents

Series Foreword

Frederick T. L. Leong

Foreword: How APA Has Promoted Social Justice
          Melba J. T. Vasquez

Introduction

Edil Torres Rivera and Lillian Comas-Díaz

 
Part I. Liberation Psychology Theory
 
1. Liberation Psychology: Origins and Development

Mark Burton and Raquel Guzzo

2. Concepts of Liberation Psychology

Edil Torres Rivera

3. Liberation Psychology and Racism

Raúl Quiñones-Rosado 

 
Part II. Liberation Psychology Method
 
4. From Freud to Fanon to Freire: Psychoanalysis as a Liberation Method

Daniel Gaztambide

5. Liberation Psychology of and for Transformative Justice: Centering Acompañamiento in Participatory Action Research

Jesica Siham Fernández

6. Feminist Participatory Action Research: Coconstructing Liberation Psychological Praxis Through Dialogic Relationality and Critical Reflexivity

M. Brinton Lykes and Gabriela Távara

 
Part III. Liberation Psychology Clinical Practice
 
7. Testimonios

Alejandro Cervantes

8. Urban Liberation: Postcolonial Intersectional Feminism and Developing a Socially Conscious Therapeutic Practice

Chakira M. Haddock-Lazala

9. Liberation Psychotherapy

Lillian Comas-Díaz

 
Part IV. Liberation Psychology and Special Populations
 
10. Black Minds Matter: Applying Liberation Psychology to Black Americans

Thema Bryant-Davis and Shavonne J. Moore-Lobban

11. Liberation Psychology and LGBTQ+ Communities: Naming Colonization, Uplifting Resilience, and Reclaiming Ancient His-stories, Her-stories, and T-stories

Anneliese A. Singh, Brean’a Parker, Anushka R. Aqil, and Falon Thacker

12. Transnational Feminist Liberation Psychology: Decolonizing Border Crossings

Kathryn L. Norsworthy and Ouyporn Khuankaew

 
Part V. Liberation Psychology Social Action
 
13. Liberation Psychology, Creativity, and Arts-Based Activism and Artivism: Culturally Meaningful Methods Connecting Personal Development and Social Change

Ester R. Shapiro

14. Liberation, Inspiration, and Critical Consciousness: Preparing the Next Generation of Practitioners

Carrie Castañeda-Sound, Daryl M. Rowe, Nahaal Binazir, and Marlene L. Cabrera

 
Conclusion. Liberation Psychology—Crossing Borders Into New Frontiers

Lillian Comas-Díaz and Edil Torres Rivera