Decolonizing Therapy
Honoring Healing Beyond the Western Lens
Why Decolonizing Therapy Matters
Traditional therapy models were built on Western, Eurocentric frameworks that don’t always reflect the realities of people from marginalized or colonized backgrounds. While effective for some, these approaches often overlook cultural wisdom, silence spiritual traditions, and minimize the impact of systemic oppression.
Decolonizing therapy is about challenging these limitations. It’s about honoring identity, validating ancestral knowledge, and restoring collective approaches to healing that have existed for centuries.
Core Principles of Decolonized Therapy
Rethink the Foundations
Many Western frameworks assume suffering is an individual disorder. A decolonized approach looks beyond the individual, exploring how history, culture, and community shape experiences of distress.
Recenter Culture and Community
Healing isn’t only personal, it’s cultural and communal. We ask:
Which traditions carry strength and resilience?
How has colonization or forced assimilation shaped this person’s story?
What role does community play in their healing?
Address Power and Language
Therapy is never neutral. Decolonizing means:
Naming power dynamics in the room.
Valuing the client’s worldview as expertise.
Questioning clinical labels that may alienate or pathologize cultural expressions of distress.
Integrate Historical and Political Awareness
Distress doesn’t happen in isolation. Colonization, racism, and generational trauma leave lasting wounds. Even today, many still face oppression and microaggressions that reinforce survival-based coping strategies. A decolonized approach makes these realities visible rather than dismissing them as “background.”
Moving Forward
Decolonizing therapy is not a destination; it’s a lifelong practice of humility and collaboration. It challenges us to unlearn colonial assumptions, uplift cultural wisdom, and co-create healing spaces where every voice is honored.
Decolonizing therapy means more than cultural competence. It’s about dismantling oppressive frameworks and embracing all ways of knowing, healing, and being.
