Liberation psychology or liberation social psychology is an approach to psychology that aims to actively understand the psychology of oppressed and impoverished communities by conceptually and practically addressing the oppressive sociopolitical structure in which they exist. [1] The central concepts of liberation psychology include: awareness; critical realism; de-ideologized reality; a coherently social orientation; the preferential option for the oppressed majorities, and methodological eclecticism. [2] [3] [4] Through transgressive and reconciliatory approaches, liberation psychology strives to mend the fractures in relationships, experience, and society caused by oppression. Liberation psychology aims to include what or who has become marginalized, both psychologically and socially. Philosophy of liberation psychology stresses the interconnectedness and co-creation of culture, psyche, self, and community. They should be viewed as interconnected and evolving multiplicities of perspectives, performances, and voices in various degrees of dialogue. Liberation psychology was first conceived by the Spanish/Salvadoran Psychologist Ignacio Martín-Baró and developed extensively in Latin America. Liberation psychology is an interdisciplinary approach that draws on liberation philosophy, Marxist, feminist, and decolonial thought, liberation theology, critical theory, critical and popular pedagogy, as well as critical psychology subareas, particularly critical social psychology. [5]
Core ideas of liberation psychology emerged in Latin America in the 1970s in response to criticisms of traditional psychology, social psychology specifically. Psychology was criticized for its 1) value neutrality; 2) assertion of universality; 3) societal irrelevance.
In response to these criticisms, psychologists sought to create a psychological science that addressed social inequalities both in theory and practical application. It is important to note that liberation psychology is not an area of psychology akin to clinical, developmental, or social psychology. It is more of a framework that aims to reconstruct psychology taking into account the perspective of the oppressed (Martín-Baró's "new interlocutor") so the discipline ceases its (often unwitting) complicity with the structures that perpetuate domination, oppression and inequality. Generally, people using this framework would not call themselves "liberation psychologists", although this term is sometimes used to refer to them. [3]
Origins of the term "liberation psychology" (or psicología de la liberación) may have first appeared in print in 1976. It was later brought into widespread use by Ignacio Martín-Baró. A number of other Latin American social psychologists have also developed and promoted the approach, including Martiza Montero (Venezuela), Ignacio Dobles (Costa Rica), Bernardo Jiménez Dominguez (Colombia/Mexico), Jorge Mario Flores (Mexico), Edgar Barrero (Colombia) and Raquel Guzzo (Brazil) among others. [3] [4] A number of similar approaches developed independently in other regions of the World, including South Africa and the Philippines. [6]
The genesis of liberation psychology began amongst a body of psychologists in Latin America in the 1970s. [3] Ignacio Martín-Baró is credited as the founder of liberation psychology, and it was further developed by others. [4]
Martín-Baró was a Spanish-born Jesuit priest and social psychologist who dedicated his work to addressing the needs of oppressed groups in Latin America, and ultimately was assassinated as a result of his work. [4] [7] His project of constructing a psychology relevant to the oppressed majorities of the American continent was therefore terminated prematurely. The collection of some of his articles in the collection Writings for a Liberation Psychology [8] is a seminal text in the field that discusses the role of psychology as socially transformative. [1] [3] [4] Most of his work still remains untranslated into English. His two major textbooks, Social Psychology from Central America, [9] and his other books [10] are published by a small University publisher, UCA editores in El Salvador with the consequence that the breadth and depth of his work is not well known even in Latin America.Martin-Baró conducted research projects with the intention of raising awareness and providing empowerment to oppressed people of El Salvador undergoing social, political, and war-related trauma. [11]
The central concepts of liberation psychology include: awareness; critical realism; de-ideologization; a social orientation; the preferential option for the oppressed majorities, and methodological eclecticism. [2] [3] [4]
The intrinsic connectedness of the person's experience and the sociopolitical structure is a fundamental tenet of liberation psychology and is referred to as concientización, a term introduced by the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire, roughly translatable as the raising of politico-social consciousness. [12] Freire was advocating for developing education and critical awareness among poor citizens. The idea is that in the process of concientización, people become more conscious of themselves and their lives as structured by the social reality of oppression, and learn to think for themselves. This gives them the agency to become social actors. They change as they begin to act on their social circumstances. [13]
Understanding this interconnectedness is of particular importance to understanding the experiences and psychology of oppressed peoples, the power structure to which they are subjugated, and the ways in which this subjugation manifests in their behavior and psychopathology. [3] [7]
Liberation psychology criticises traditional psychology for explaining human behavior independently of the sociopolitical, historical, and cultural context. [1] [2] [4] Martín-Baró argued that a failure of mainstream psychology is the attribution to the individual of characteristics that are found in the societal relations of the group. [14] He argued that individual characteristics are a result of social relations, and to view such individualistically de-emphasizes the role of social structures, incorrectly attributing sociopolitical problems to the individual. [2] [4] Liberation psychology addresses this by reorienting the focus from an individualistic to a social orientation. Using this framework, the behaviour of oppressed people is conceptualized not through intrapsychic processes, but as a result of the alienating environment.
The social orientation has a particular emphasis on understanding the role of history in shaping current conditions, and the ways in which this history resulted in the oppression of particular communities. Within this orientation, critical examination of social power and its structures is crucial. This is necessary in order to understand political and social power as not being interpersonal, but part of a society's institutional organization. [3]
The development of a psychology that is "from" oppressed people rather than "for" oppressed people is the aim of liberation psychologists. Traditional psychology is understood as Eurocentric and is critiqued for ignoring the unique experiences of oppressed individuals. Martín-Baró made a similar argument, critiquing Latin American psychologists for adopting Eurocentric psychological models that were not informed by the social, political, and cultural environment of the impoverished and oppressed, which was the majority of people in 1980s El Salvador. [4] [7]
Liberation psychology further criticizes traditional psychology for its ivory tower approach to understanding phenomena, following Martín-Baró's call for psychology to turn its attention from its own social and scientific status to the needs and struggles of the popular majority. [15] Unlike traditional approaches, liberation psychology seeks to re-situate the psychologist as part of the emancipatory process for and with oppressed communities.
Martín-Baró contended that theories should not define the problems to be explored, but that the problems generate their own theories. [4] This idea is termed critical realism. This is contrasted to the traditional approach of addressing problems based on preconceived theorization, idealismo-metodológico (methodological idealism). In critical realism, theorization plays a supportive, but not fundamental, role. [4] Martín-Baró's idea of realism-crítico should not be equated with the work of Roy Bhaskar on critical realism. Although the two ideas are conceptually similar in some ways, they have distinct meanings (hence the use of the term here in Spanish, rather than attempting a direct translation). [3]
Martín-Baró emphasized the role of ideology in obscuring the social forces and relations that create and maintain oppression: a key task of psychologists then is to de-ideologize reality, helping people to understand for themselves the nature of social reality transparently rather than obscured by dominant ideology. [3] [4] Ideology, understood as the ideas that perpetuate the interests of hegemonic groups, maintains the unjust sociopolitical environment. Alternatively, a de-ideologized reality encourages members of marginalized populations to endorse ideologies that promote their own interests and not those of the hegemony. [3] [4] [7] Martín-Baró's analysis of supposed Latin American fatalism and the myth of the lazy Latino exemplified his approach as did his use of public opinion surveys to counter the distortion that the then-government and military were presenting of the Salvadorian public's views on the war. [16]
Research with a liberation psychology framework incorporates methodologies from diverse domains. Traditional methodologies, such as surveys and quantitative analyses, are combined with more novel techniques for psychology, such as qualitative analyses, photography, drama, and textual analysis. [3]
Ignacio Martín-Baró had opposed the introduction of community psychology to El Salvador, on the basis of the ameliorative (asistencialista') approach and limited social perspective of then dominant North American models. Nevertheless, community psychology, and especially the Latin American variants (typically termed community social psychology) is one of the areas most influenced by the concepts of liberation psychology. [17] Moreover, community social psychology in Latin America, which predates liberation psychology,[ citation needed ] also shares roots in the wider movement of Latin American critical and liberatory praxis (especially dependency theory, philosophy of liberation, liberation theology, critical or popular pedagogy). [18]
Liberation psychology departs from traditional psychological prioritization of the individual and the attribution of an individual's distress to pathology within the individual. Liberation psychology seeks to understand the person within their sociopolitical, cultural, and historical context. Therefore, distress is understood not solely in intrapsychic terms but in the context of an oppressive environment that psychologises and individualises distress. In a psychotherapeutic context, this removes the onus of psychological distress solely from the individual and their immediate circumstances, and reframes the origin of distress as the environment and social structure to which persons are subjugated. Furthermore, this helps people to understand their relationship to the power structure, and the ways in which they participate in it. [2] [4] [19] [20] In liberatory approaches to mental distress the therapy is only a step towards the 're-insertion' of a person into their social milieu, social action and their existential life-project. [21]
Since the late 1990s, international congresses on liberation psychology have been held, primarily at Latin American universities. These congresses have been attended by hundreds of professionals and students, and have been crucial in perpetuating the social justice message of liberation psychology.
Specific congress themes include human rights, social justice, democratization, and creating models for liberation psychology in psychological practice and pedagogy. [1] In recent years, these meetings have become increasingly focused on addressing issues related to poverty and economic inequality.
International congresses on liberation psychology include:
Liberation psychology is not limited to Latin America. [27] The term was used by Philippine psychologist Virgilio Enríquez, apparently independently of Martín-Baró. [28] Elsewhere there have been explicit attempts to apply the approach to practice in other regions. [29] In 2011 an English language liberation psychology network was established by the British psychologist Mark Burton. [30] It has an international membership which reflects interest in liberation psychology from psychologists who do not read Spanish or Portuguese.[ citation needed ] Moreover, not all liberatory praxis in psychology goes under the name "liberation psychology".
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Some scholars[ who? ] argue that the liberation psychology framework is central to black psychology. The interconnectedness of the personal and political, a fundamental tenet of liberation psychology, is central to black psychology. [31] Furthermore, black psychology is thought of as inherently liberationist as it argues that addressing the psychology of black persons necessitates understanding, and addressing, the history and sociopolitical power structure that has resulted in the global oppression of individuals of African descent. [32]
Proponents of black psychology operate within the social orientation of liberation psychology, contending that Eurocentric ideologies of traditional psychology lack relevance when dealing with black communities. Therefore, an Afrocentric conceptualization that recognizes the unique history of individuals of African-descent is necessary when dealing with such communities. [33] Using a liberation psychology framework, black psychology argues that simply recognizing the distinctiveness of the black experience is inadequate if the psychological theorization used does not come from the communities to which they are applied. [19] [32] Such a position is consistent with Martín-Baró's assertion that the use of Eurocentric psychological methods is incongruent with the lived experiences of oppressed communities. [4]
Recent work in North America has sought to understand the applied use of liberation psychology in psychotherapy with LGBT individuals. Unlike traditional psychotherapeutic interventions, this approach reframes LGBT individuals' psychological issues as resulting from an understandable incorporation of the homonegative attitudes characteristic of the social structures within which gay and transgender people live.
Traditional psychotherapy typically recognises the effect of homophobia and its impact on LGBT people, but often fails to clear the person of the blame for embracing such views. However, a liberationist psychological approach aims to facilitate the freeing the individual of the blame for adopting the homonegative views of the society. Instead, the onus is on the social environment, understanding that persons are themselves constituted as persons in their social context. Such an approach understands 'psychological' issues as inextricably linked to the societal context.
This may free the LGBT person from feeling flawed for harboring homonegative ideas. They are then able to examine how they are a participant in the social environment and the ways in which they can take responsibility for future actions. Additionally, using the concept of concientización, people can examine how changing themselves can challenge the oppressive nature of the larger sociopolitical system, [2] although in most liberation psychology there is a more dialectical relationship between personal and social change where personal change does not have to precede social liberation. [34]
Moreover, the framework of radical healing is closely aligned with ethnopolitical psychology, a form of liberation psychology.The aim of ethnic political psychology is to encourage healing and transformation through the development of critical consciousness and political activism, especially in regards to decolonizing people of color, reformulating their ethnic identity, and promoting racial reconciliation, personal growth, and societal change. [35] Cultural imperialism, racism, oppression, and colonization can all result in trauma, which is believed by liberation psychologists to be able to be healed by ethno-political psychology, though no comprehensive studies exist. This process integrates diverse identities, gives people a sense of mastery, and reconnects them to their roots. By combining Eastern and Western healing traditions with Indigenous healing, this model provides a culturally appropriate framework. POCI must be accompanied by practitioners who bear witness to their suffering and are committed to helping them recognize systemic racial oppression and colonialism, while embracing resistance instead of maintaining the status quo. [36]
Critical psychology is a perspective on psychology that draws extensively on critical theory. Critical psychology challenges the assumptions, theories and methods of mainstream psychology and attempts to apply psychological understandings in different ways, often looking towards social change as a means of preventing and treating psychopathology.
Liberation theology is a theological approach emphasizing the "liberation of the oppressed". It engages in socio-economic analyses, with social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples and addresses other forms of perceived inequality.
Ignacio Ellacuría was a Spanish-Salvadoran Jesuit, philosopher, and theologian who worked as a professor and rector at the Universidad Centroamericana "José Simeón Cañas" (UCA), a Jesuit university in El Salvador founded in 1965. He and several other Jesuits and two others were assassinated by Salvadoran soldiers in the closing years of the Salvadoran Civil War.
Community psychology is concerned with the community as the unit of study. This contrasts with most psychology which focuses on the individual. Community psychology also studies the community as a context for the individuals within it, and the relationships of the individual to communities and society. Community psychologists seek to understand the functioning of the community, including the quality of life of persons within groups, organizations and institutions, communities, and society. They aim to enhance the quality of life through collaborative research and action.
Ignacio Martín-Baró was a scholar, social psychologist, philosopher and Jesuit priest who was born in Valladolid, Castilla y Leon, Spain and died in San Salvador, El Salvador. He was one of the victims of the 1989 murders of Jesuits in El Salvador.
Segundo Montes was a scholar, philosopher, educator, sociologist and Jesuit priest who was born in Valladolid, Spain and died in San Salvador, El Salvador. He was one of the victims of the 1989 murders of Jesuits in El Salvador.
José Simeón Cañas Central American University, also known as UCA El Salvador, is a private Catholic university with nonprofit purposes in Antiguo Cuscatlán, El Salvador. It is operated by the Society of Jesus.
Jon Sobrino is a Spanish Jesuit Catholic priest and theologian, known mostly for his contributions to Latin American liberation theology. He received worldwide attention in 2007 when the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a notification for what they termed doctrines that are "erroneous or dangerous and may cause harm to the faithful."
Indigenous psychology is defined by Kim and Berry as "the scientific study of human behavior or mind that is native, that is not transported from other regions, and that is designed for its people." There is a strong emphasis on how one's actions are influenced by the environment surrounding them as well as the aspects that make it up. This would include analyzing the context, in addition to the content that combine to make the domain that one is living in. The context would consist of the family, social, cultural, and ecological pieces and the content would consist of the meaning, values, and beliefs. Since the mid 1970s, there has been outcry about the traditional views from psychologists across the world, from Africa to Australia and many places in between about how the methods only reflect what would work in Europe and the Americas.
Na'im Akbar is a clinical psychologist well known for his Afrocentric approach to psychology. He is a distinguished scholar, public speaker, and author. Akbar entered the world of Black psychology in the 1960s, as the Black Power Movement was gaining momentum. In the 1970s, Akbar published his first critiques of the Eurocentric psychological tradition, asserting that this model maintained the intellectual oppression of African Americans. Akbar criticized the pathology perspectives that had taken over as the dominant literature on African Americans. Many of his major works involved mental health among African Americans.
Ian Parker is a British psychologist and psychoanalyst. He is Emeritus Professor of Management in the School of Business at the University of Leicester.
Feminist psychology is a form of psychology centered on social structures and gender. Feminist psychology critiques historical psychological research as done from a male perspective with the view that males are the norm. Feminist psychology is oriented on the values and principles of feminism.
Black psychology, also known as African-American psychology and African/Black psychology, is a scientific field that focuses on how people of African descent know and experience the world. The field, particularly in the United States, largely emerged as a result of the lack of understanding of the psychology of Black people under traditional, Westernized notions of psychology. Overall, the field combines perspectives from both Black studies and traditional psychology encapsulating a range of definitions and approaches while simultaneously proposing its own framework of understanding.
During the Salvadoran Civil War, on 16 November 1989, Salvadoran Army soldiers killed six Jesuits and two others, the caretaker's wife and daughter, at their residence on the campus of Central American University in San Salvador, El Salvador. Polaroid photos of the Jesuits' bullet-riddled bodies were on display in the hallway outside the chapel, and a memorial rose garden was planted beside the chapel to commemorate the murders.
The psychotherapy and social action model is an approach to psychotherapy characterized by concentration on past and present personal, social, and political obstacles to mental health. In particular, the goal of this therapeutic approach is to acknowledge that individual symptoms are not unique, but rather shared by people similarly oppressed and marginalized. Ultimately, the psychotherapy and social action model aims to aid clients in overcoming mental illness through personal psychotherapy, group coping, and collective social action.
Susan Pick is a Mexican social psychologist and the founder and board president of the Mexican Institute for Family and Population Research (IMIFAP), a Mexican organization that has promoted and facilitated wellbeing for over 21 million people in Mexico and 17 other countries through over 60 education, health and poverty reduction programs. She has her Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of London.
M. Brinton Lykes is an American psychologist who has established a reputation for her work on psychosocial effects of state-sponsored terror and organized violence.
Racial trauma, or race-based traumatic stress, is the cumulative effects of racism on an individual’s mental and physical health. It has been observed in numerous BIPOC communities and people of all ages, including young children. Racial trauma can be experienced vicariously or directly. It has been linked to feelings of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation, as well as other physical health issues.
Christopher Conrad Sonn is an Australian social psychologist whose work in the area of community and liberation psychology focuses on intergroup relations, racism, White privilege, and non-dominant group responses to oppression. Sonn is Professor of Psychology at the College of Health and Biomedicine of the Victoria University, Melbourne (VU).
Maritza Montero is a Venezuelan social psychologist and political scientist. She is a Professor and Program Director at the Central University of Venezuela. Her research focuses on community psychology, political psychology, and liberation psychology, with a particular focus on Latin America. She has been the President of the International Society of Political Psychology.
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