It is important to pay attention to the output of the American Psychological Association (APA). With its very large membership, it determines the current orthodoxy for the psychology and therapy professions not only in the US but globally. There are multiple posts on the CTA website tracking the APA’s political activist agenda over the last five years (for example, see here and here). Bearing this in mind we turn to its flagship journal, American Psychologist, and its latest special issue titled: “Toward a Decolonial Psychology: Recentering and Reclaiming Global Marginalized Knowledges”and note the grand claim with its social justice agenda made in the impact statement: “The work reimagines psychological theory and practice, offering insights for building decolonial futures rooted in justice, relationality, and the restoration of historically suppressed epistemologies.”
A couple of things to note. This is the second special issue in 2025 to address this topic. An earlier one this year (vol 80, no 4) is titled: “Reclaiming Love, Wisdom, and Healing Through Decolonial and Liberation Psychologies: A Call to Action” . These two special issues would suggest that ‘decolonial’ is becoming the main umbrella term for the new politicised therapy approaches advocated by APA. This rhetorical shift matters. Until recently these politicised approaches were often not explicitly labelled as such but just assumed to be an evolution in practice. Using the term ‘decolonial’ identifies them as explicitly deconstructionist. What this move indicates is that the APA is now supporting psychologists to dismantle the entire discipline of psychology on the grounds that it is ‘white supremacist’ to its core and a product of oppressive ‘settler-colonial’ states. What should be put in its place is far less clear.
The second thing to note is that there is no critique or alternative perspective presented on decolonial psychology; instead, it is presented as an uncontested truth and framed as an unequivocal moral good. These are indicators of an ideological program rather than a quest to discover what promotes human flourishing. All new approaches need rigorous investigation and testing – at the moment it sounds as if a decolonial approach could be anything the therapist wants it to be (for example, see Thema Bryant’s Ted talk). Arna Mitchell, a NZ clinical psychologist of Maori heritage, warns of the psychological damage done by psychologists imposing poorly understood Maori cultural concepts onto their clients.
Readers are encouraged to access the introductions to both special issues (both are open access). There will be a lot more like this coming down the pipeline. Forewarned is forearmed.
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