On Pan-Africanism, Feminism, and Psychotherapy: The Perspectives of Three Black Scholar-Practitioners from the U.S., Uganda, and St. Kitts/U.S

Abstract

Three African-descended psychologists discuss the case of a psychotherapy dyad in which the first author, a U.S. national, and a Caribbean student who had immigrated to the U.S. served respectively as therapist and client. We discuss the relevance of Helms' racial identity development theory to the cultivation of psychological health among African-descended women, proposing that this form of health is intimately tied to our association with other Africandescended people. With particular focus on the client's disclosures about certain groups of Black people in stereotypical ways, what we term "othering by the other," we offer a conceptualization that knits together issues of personal vulnerability, the reproduction of structural violence, and racial identity development. We conclude by presenting our views on the process and outcome of the therapeutic case and the significance of the theory to addressing the violence that continues to disrupt the lives of Black men and women around the world.

The Stressors and Challenges of Single Motherhood: The Lived Experiences of African Immigrant Women

“…There are long-lasting impacts of colonization that continue to affect the lives of racialized women. Thompson et al, (2020) note of the women of African descent whose ancestors were forcibly removed from their homeland during the Transatlantic Slave Trade, these women were victims of an oppressive force which was controlled by European totalitarianism. The brutality inflicted by Europeans on Africans included abduction, rape, torture and murder; these actions have spanned way beyond slavery and have manifested into modern-day oppression and discrimination.…”