Toward a Caribbean psychology: Context, imperatives, and future directions.

Abstract

Modern scientific psychology, by virtue of its origin, theoretical contributions, overall research production, and influence in the global context, is predominantly a Euro American discipline that has been exported as the universal model for understanding and promoting human psychological functioning. There is now growing acceptance of its conceptualization as a culturally bound discipline (i.e., grounded in a singular cultural/tradition), the validity of decades of criticisms about its limited application in the global context and calls for a culturally relevant science (

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“…Adding credibility to the foregoing, Thompson (2016) asserts that "[T]he Caribbean region is included among parts of the global community whose psychology stories are conspicuously missing from the discipline's historiography" (p. 17). In the conduct of cross-cultural research, there is a need to widen the aperture, as this is congruent with 21 st century realities, with the readjusting calculus of national impacts.…”

An Examination of the Landscape of Psychology in Jamaica

“…To advance the field in Jamaica, we need to ensure that our training grounds are structured to best support the overarching goal of national development. There have been numerous calls from psychologists across the region for the development of a Caribbean psychology (Amuleru-Marshall, 2013;Dudley-Grant, 2013;Bradshaw Maynard, 2013;Ramkissoon;Sutherland, 2011;Thompson, 2013Thompson, , 2016, as well as the recognition that there will also likely be the need for country-specific psychology frameworks (Thompson, 2016). There are also examples of site-specific programmes and curricula (Thompson, 2013(Thompson, , 2016.…”

“…There have been numerous calls from psychologists across the region for the development of a Caribbean psychology (Amuleru-Marshall, 2013;Dudley-Grant, 2013;Bradshaw Maynard, 2013;Ramkissoon;Sutherland, 2011;Thompson, 2013Thompson, , 2016, as well as the recognition that there will also likely be the need for country-specific psychology frameworks (Thompson, 2016). There are also examples of site-specific programmes and curricula (Thompson, 2013(Thompson, , 2016. These all provide a foundation for continued interrogation of our educational offerings to maximise their contribution to advancing a Jamaican and a regional psychology.…”

“…These all provide a foundation for continued interrogation of our educational offerings to maximise their contribution to advancing a Jamaican and a regional psychology. This requires, as has been expressed elsewhere, greater inclusion of regionally developed theory, research methods, and research in curricula and course content that examines our social issues and explores how graduates can practically work to tackle these issues (Amuleru-Marshall, 2013;Dudley-Grant, 2013;Bradshaw Maynard, 2013;Sutherland, 2011;Thompson, 2013Thompson, , 2016. Greater culturally driven course content interrogating issues of self-, family, national, and regional identity and tackling areas such as the psychology of interpersonal violence and relationship-building in the workplace comes readily to mind.…”

La lutte continue: Louis Mars and the genesis of ethnopsychiatry.

“…Later on, Nobles (2015b) connected this essential "African philosophical thread" to the success of the Haitian revolution. Sutherland (2011) and Thompson (2016) built upon this theoretical foundation by directly merging the Caribbean's geopolitical and spiritual history with this African-centered paradigm to center Caribbean psychology as a necessary subfield to generate and coordinate care and healing for the African-descendent Caribbean peoples. It should be noted that this paradigm should not be confused for "ethnotheorizing" or homogenizing the African experience, as African-centered psychology acknowledges and celebrates the historic and current diversity of brilliance and geopolitical developments that frame various African and African-diasporic groups (Ratele et al, 2018).…”