Liberating history: The context of the challenge of psychologists of color to American psychology.

Abstract

The history of race and ethnicity in North America is long and complex. It has been fraught with racism and various forms of oppression--intellectual, social, and physical--and defies easy analysis. This article examines the history of race and ethnicity in the United States, and how it played out in the field of psychology. Although other articles in this issue examine the specific impact of racism and internal colonialism on racial and ethnic minorities, this article places these events within an international context, specifically the post-World War II era when oppressed peoples around the world sought liberation from colonial oppressors. The article suggests that the struggles and successes of racial and ethnic minority psychologists may provide the best opportunity for American psychology to connect with emerging indigenous psychologies in other parts of the world, which represent the future of psychology in a globalizing world.

Differentiation and Healthy Family Functioning of Koreans in South Korea, South Koreans in the United States, and White Americans

“…However, an increased number of mental health professionals warn of the danger of American psychological imperialism (Gasquoine, ; Graham, ; Pickren, ), which results from the fact that American psychology mostly employs White middle‐class participants for research, and then, the results are applied globally. Critics claim that American psychological imperialism is a problem because the findings from White Americans may not accurately be applied to people of other ethnicities, cultures, and nations.…”

Clinician, Society and Suicide Mountain: Reading Rogerian Doctrine of Unconditional Positive Regard (UPR)

“…As long as unconditional positive regard is practiced within the framework of sociological and ethical considerations it is illogical to describe it as unconditional. There is no form of therapy without agenda (Gone, 2011;Pickren, 2009). Perhaps, it is important to ask who sets the agenda, for whom and in what context?…”

“…Psychotherapy can be viewed as a cultural process (Pickren, 2009). In his article "Is psychological science acultural?"…”

Division 45

“…Early history of psychology as a science of behavior was largely based in the interest of understanding internal processes and mechanisms related to learning, motivation, development, and behavior change. Cultural, social, and environmental influences were rarely included (Pickren, 2009). Moreover, psychology maintained that science and the profession should remain objective and apolitical.…”

“…In a number of interviews, many voiced their sense of isolation during their training in universities by being the only student in the program, by having no mentors or role models of color, and by managing the institutional and interpersonal racist conflicts in order to complete the required training to achieve their career goals. The establishment of a number of ethnic minority psychological associations (Comas-Díaz, 2009;Franklin, 2009;Holliday, 2009;Jones & Austin-Dailey, 2009;Leong, 2009aLeong, , 2009bLeong & Okazaki, 2009;McCubbin & Marsella, 2009;Padilla & Olmedo, 2009;Pickren, 2009;Sue, 2009;Trimble & Clearing-Sky, 2009) between the 1960s and early 1980s began to form scientific and professional communities in support of a growing number of ethnic minority psychologists. At the same time, however, there was growing concern that the necessity and existence of these ethnic minority psychological associations represented a marginalization of these communities and issues within the APA (Comas-Díaz, 2009;Pickren, 2006;Sue, 2009).…”