Decolonizing in Individual Psychotherapy: A Qualitative Exploration

Abstract

We interviewed 12 therapists experienced in practicing decolonizing about their understanding of decolonizing and its relevance to therapy, as well as how they implemented this approach with at least one client. Interviews were analyzed using Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) and revealed that colonial paradigms had negative individual, relational, and societal impacts; therapists used a range of interventions aligned with decolonizing, including interventions to help clients gain insight about the systemic context of psychological problems and to facilitate client resistance of colonial ideologies; sociocultural identity interactions between therapist and client considerably shaped the therapy work; therapists encountered conceptual, practical, and systemic barriers to decolonizing practice; and clients experienced improvements across intrapersonal and interpersonal functioning. Implications for practice and research are discussed.