This conference consists of three panels held over three days, from Friday, October 30, to Sunday, November 1.
Mainstream psychology continues to privilege and promote the interests of the majority, in particular those in Western, Educated, Industrial, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) countries. The call for a decolonial turn in psychology has gathered momentum over recent years, along with greater reflection on how the field reproduces and reinforces systems of oppression including social, racial, economic, and ecological injustices.
This graduate student-led conference will bring together researchers and clinicians to answer two main questions: How can we redress and resist the asymmetrical distribution of power within psychological science, research, training and practice? What steps do we need to take to give voice to those who are marginalized within the field, in particular those outside of the West, and incorporate their knowledge and expertise to create a more holistic discipline?
In addressing these questions, we will discuss the history of decolonial psychology, how colonialism has shaped the field of psychology, and how we can incorporate decolonial methods into clinical and academic work to move towards personal and collective emancipation.
Speakers:
- Hector Adames, co-director of the Immigration, Critical Race, and Cultural Equity Lab and the editor of Latinx Psychology Today
- Sunil Bhatia, chair of the human development department at Connecticut College
- E. J. R. David, professor of clinical-community psychology in the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Ph.D. program
- Lillian Comas-Diaz, feminist psychologist and pioneer in the field of ethnocultural approaches to mental health
- Silvia Dutchevici, founder and president of the Critical Therapy Center
- Candice Nicole Hargons, founder of the Center for Healing Racial Trauma
- Shose Kessi, co-founder of the Hub for Decolonial Feminist Psychologies in Africa
- Helen Neville, president-elect of the APA’s Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, and Race
- Carmen Inoa Vazquez, clinical psychologist and educator, founder of the Bilingual Treatment Program Clinic at Bellevue Hospital
Moderators:
- Doris Chang, co-investigator at the Center of Excellence for Cultural Competence, New York State Psychiatric Institute
- Consuelo Cavalieri, associate professor in the Graduate School of Professional Psychology at the University of St. Thomas
- Daniel Jose Gaztambide, director of the Frantz Fanon Center for Intersectional Psychology
Performances:
- Hala Alyan, Palestinian-American writer, poet, and clinical psychologist
- Cheryl Clarke, award-winning poet and activist
- Dancers from the Flex Dance Program, arts education non-profit
This event is free and open to the public. More information on the conference’s three panels, as well as registration links, can be found here. Please note: You must register separately for each panel you plan to attend.
Presented by the department of psychology at The New School for Social Research.
Additional sponsors include:
