Decolonising Counselling and Psychotherapy

Decolonisation is a term which has become a modern day buzzword as we look to understand the influences of the systemic structures of oppression which have molded all of our identities, yet, in the worlds of counselling and psychotherapy there has been a struggle to understand what this term means in regard to our profession. Decolonizing Counseling and Psychotherapy considers the ways in which the systems of colonization have taken over and are continually reconstituted within our profession.

This book challenges our profession by offering practical ways in which we might diversify our practices, proffering varying perspectives about how to create pathways for greater inclusion in training courses, and examining the many opportunities to explore and expand the ways in which we undertake research. Most importantly, it will encourage the therapist to look at the internalized experiences of colonization on themselves. The book shows that working creatively with techniques common to counseling and psychotherapy could lead the profession to not only broaden out what it knows and understands of human nature, but through a process of decolonization, assist in meeting the needs of a wider range of clients.

This book will be invaluable to counselors, psychotherapists, and psychologists working in the helping professions, and to those whose activism drives them to want to make our helping professions more inclusive and equitable.