Decolonisation and Climate Psychology

The world is experiencing unprecedented global heating and associated adverse weather events with negative impacts on mental health, physical health, ecosystems, infrastructure and economic systems. Psychologists are playing an increasingly important role in attempting to understand the impacts of climate change and interventions to address it. However, psychologists have inadequately acknowledged the unfairness of climate change (marginalised groups are disproportionately affected by climate change and ecological destruction) and the colonial underpinnings of climate change that shape much of that unfairness. This presentation focuses on strengthening the role of the decolonial movement and its intersections with climate psychology. The presentation describes the role of psychologists in the climate emergency, including some potential problems with current approaches. It then discusses the colonial assemblages that continue to promote the structural biases of climate change. It outlines how decolonial ideas emanating from within (for example, decolonial psychology) and outside of (for example, decolonising climate justice) psychology may be useful in strengthening climate psychology, including examples of how this is happening. Lastly, the presentation suggests recommendations for future work.

Prof. Brendon Barnes

Brendon Barnes is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Johannesburg. His work focuses on environmental and climate change injustices through inclusive and action-oriented research. He writes in psychology and environmental health and contributes to the field in three ways: to deepen understanding of ‘behaviour’ in environmental studies, to strengthen critical methodologies, and to reveal how climate and environmental activism is undermined and enhanced.

An inquiry into the experiences of female victims of human trafficking in Ethiopia

The purpose of this study is to tell the story of female victims of human trafficking from Ethiopia. It relates to the cause of trafficking and how it affects their social and emotional wellbeing. The study is conducted in light of constructivist framework and involves in-depth interviews with five returnees whose experiences as victims are explored. This is done to get insight into the challenges faced by the wider population. Themes evident in the stories are discussed in line with relevant literature. The study shows lack of job opportunities, limited income and false promises made by brokers as the major factors drawing women into human trafficking. The findings also show that even after return, the victims experience further difficulties due to post-traumatic psychological factors.  Looking at the significance of the research outcome, the gleaned information could be of value for organizations working on migration, Rehabilitating trafficking survivors and countering human trafficking.

Keywords: Female, Human trafficking, Migration, Migrant workers, Psychosocial and victims of trafficking.

Prof. Assefach Haileselassie Redda

Asefach Haileselassie is a Psychologist, Certified Management Consultant and an expert on Migration & Human Trafficking & psychosocial support. She focuses on Psycho-educating her society through various media outlets, Training, Counseling and writing books and articles. She is the Author of two books in Amharic, the national language of Ethiopia and the books focused on parenting and family life. She is currently working on preparing her two books in English language to address African and the global audience at large. Asefach has served as a President and Vice President of the Ethiopian Psychology Association (EPA) in different times and she is the founding member of the Executive Board of the Pan African Psychology Union (PAPU). Asefach is married and a mother of 3, one daughter and two sons and one granddaughter.

Transformative Change through Clinical Supervision with Cultural Humility

Mental health needs in South Africa are significant.  An estimated one out of  every eight people currently have a diagnosable mental health condition (Sorsdahl et al., 2023); one in six adults met diagnostic criteria for depression, anxiety, or substance use in a 12-month period (Herman et al., 2009; Sorsdahl et al., 2023).  In addition, there is a significant and severe shortage of providers:  .97 public sector psychologists and .31 public sector psychiatrists per 100,000 uninsured in the population who include a historically marginalized, culturally, racially and linguistically diverse client population.  As Pillay and Nyandini (2020) concluded in their follow-up to a study by Pillay and Siyothula (2008), no increase in admissions of black students had occurred even though the Health Professions Council of South Africa had set a target for increasing training numbers of black African students two decades prior.

In their study of South African clinical and counseling supervisors’ perceptions, Hendricks, Cartwright, and Cowden (2021) concluded that currently, individuals begin supervising prematurely, without formal training or readiness.  This impacts quality of care, attitudes towards psychological intervention.

Addressing this crisis, clinical supervision through a frame of cultural humility has potential to be an agent of change.  In South Africa, data on admissions and completion of graduate training indicate critical need for attention to multicultural diversity recruitment, familiarity and comfort with cultural diversity in mental health, and availability of services, distinct needs of the client population, and demographics generally.  Introducing the study of psychology early in elementary school curriculum is a good entry point.

Mental health needs in South Africa are significant. An estimated one out of every eight people currently have a diagnosable mental health condition (Sorsdahl et al., 2023); one in six adults met diagnostic criteria for depression, anxiety, or substance use disorders in a 12-month period (Herman et al., 2009; Sorsdahl et al., 2023). However, there is a severe shortage of mental health providers: only 0.97 public sector psychologists and 0.31 public sector psychiatrists per 100,000 uninsured individuals in the population, which includes a historically marginalized, culturally, racially, and linguistically diverse client population (Pillay & Nyandini, 2020). Despite the Health Professions Council of South Africa setting a target to increase the training of Black African students two decades prior, Pillay and Siyothula (2008) found no increase in admissions of Black students.

Hendricks, Cartwright, and Cowden (2021) concluded that in South Africa, clinical and counseling supervisors often begin supervising prematurely, without formal training or readiness, impacting the quality of care and attitudes toward psychological intervention. Addressing this crisis, clinical supervision through a frame of cultural humility has the potential to be an agent of change. Data on admissions and completion of graduate training in South Africa indicate a critical need for attention to multicultural diversity recruitment, familiarity and comfort with mental health, availability of services distinct to the client population’s needs, and demographics generally, including introducing the study of psychology early in the elementary school curriculum.

Strategies to address interest in psychology training through use of a competency-based supervision model in the frame of cultural humility are presented to enhance accessibility, value attached, and perceived relevance of mental health treatment and career development.

Carol Falender, Ph.D. is co-author/editor of seven books on clinical supervision and consultation, has presented workshops on clinical supervision, the competency-based model, multicultural supervision, and ethics and regulatory issues in supervision in the U.S., Canada, and internationally. She received the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy Distinguished Award for International Advancement of Psychotherapy in 2023.

Changing mindsets: Psychological assessment futures in South Africa

Psychological assessment has been integral to psychology but its applicability has often been debated, especially when assessments developed in the Global North are used globally. The universalist assumptions of these assessments have been challenged, recognizing the impact of cultural differences influenced by individual, community, and broader social and political conditions on assessment. In South Africa, the history of psychological assessment reflects not only Western influence but also complicity in apartheid. Despite the significant changes that occurred in the 1990s in assessment, issues of access and distribution persist. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a swift transition to online assessments, which increased access but also highlighted and perpetuated existing inequalities. After three decades of democracy, it is crucial to reconsider the role of assessment in South Africa. This paper draws on peer-reviewed research and personal experiences to provide a historical overview of both global and local assessment practices, focusing on South Africa’s unique journey. It discusses current challenges and progress in psychological assessment, emphasizing the need for inclusion, indigenization, and innovation. The paper advocates for an agenda that prioritizes accessibility, relevance, and responsiveness to societal needs in South African psychological assessment, aiming to create a more equitable and effective system.

Prof. Sumaya Laher

Prof. Sumaya Laher is a psychologist specializing in psychometrics, cultural psychology, and mental health. Based at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa,  Prof. Laher’s research focuses on the intersection of culture and psychological assessment, advocating for culturally relevant psychometric practices. She is the Editor of the African Journal of Psychological Assessment and Past President of the Psychological Society of South Africa.

Emancipatory Brief Therapy—Liberating Self from Oppression within and without.

EBT is a treatment approach designed to help persons free themselves psychologically and behaviorally from social, political, or relational systems that undermine their well-being, compromise their integrity, diminish their potential, and/or leave them stuck in pathological states of learned helplessness and unwitting cooperation with oppression, subtle or blatant.  Although benefiting from time-tested and cross-cultural therapeutic approaches for changing human behavior, this approach stands in contrast to the established Euro-American approaches that, at best, ignore or minimize the pervasiveness of oppression in interpersonal and social life and, at worse, justify or promote it in therapy and everyday living. Building on the seminal insights of Dr. Frantz Fanon and other critical thinkers, Emancipatory Brief Therapy rests on a conceptual model analyzing oppression in everyday living. It selects foci and sequences of self-liberating action suitable to each person’s goals and life situation. The approach has individual, family, group, and public health applications. Cognizant of the well-documented alienation and high dropout rates of the non-European populations from Eurocentric treatment modalities, EBT is designed to be relevant, effective, and brief in number and length of sessions, leaving options for subsequent booster or consulting sessions.

Prof. Hussein Bulhan

Professor Hussein A. Bulhan is a graduate of Boston University’s Clinical Psychology Program and Harvard University School of Public Health. While serving at Boston University Medical Center and the Boston City Hospital, he taught at Boston University’s Clinical Psychology Program for 12 years. Still, he resigned after earning tenure in protest to its President’s racist and pro-Apartheid public declarations. He subsequently developed a thriving health consultant firm in the United States, later returning to his country of origin in the throes of war and war trauma to help promote peace and treatment of victims.

Role of Psychology in National Development

The paper examines the role of psychology in national development and the extent to which psychology has been utilized by the different cadres of leadership to impact human and socio-economic and political development, Noting that a major indicator of national development is the sense of autonomy and personal freedom for innovation decision making and problem solving blended in the disposition of the collective to self-reflect and take responsibility for the outcomes of their decisions and actions. In the neo-colonialist context, scholars and pan Africanists have advocated for the complete detachment from the colonial mentality for full Africanization of ideologies that define governance and socio-political process that impact positively on citizens. The paper reviews attempts by African Governments to achieve this within the context of the various initiatives by African Union Heads of Governments. It questions how much contributions the discipline of psychology has made to these processes. The paper concludes by evaluating the contributions of psychology to African development on the basis of indigenous theoretical precincts or euro-centric paradigms.

Prof. Andrew Zamani

Andrew E. Zamani is a Professor of Clinical Psychology and a MASHAV Scholar. He is  a John Hopkins University Trained Behavioral Science Academic Mentor. Widely described as quintessential, Prof. Zamani has spent over four decades of his work-life in clinical practice, initially at the University of Jos Teaching Hospital, Jos and later on at the  University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada. Professor Zamani is a transformational leader, one who has expanded the fortunes of Psychology through constructive engagement with government and private sectors. He is Fellow of the Nigerian Psychological Association, Association of Practicing Psychologists of Nigeria and the Nigerian Association of Clinical Psychologists.

 A three- time President of the Nigerian Psychological Association, Prof. Zamani has also served as the Chairman of it’s League of Fellows. .  He is the current President-Elect of the Pan-African Psychology Union, Executive Council Member of the World Association of Cultural Psychiatry. He is a two-times Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences; Nasarawa State University, Keffi; Immediate Past Director, Quality Assurance and the current Director, Institute of Governance & Development Studies at the same University. 

So far he has led the Institute to  develop partnerships on training and capacity building with  the Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution, Nigerian Army College of Logistics, Tukura Buratai Research Center, Public Service Institute of Nigeria and the Pan-African Institute of Development West Africa among others.  These partnerships have made his Institute the flagship academic Centre of the University. 

 He is Editor in Chief of Ife Psychologia, Gender and Behavior, African and Journal of Applied Psychology. He is on the Editorial Board of African Journal of Drug & Substance Abuse, Central Nigerian Journal of Psychology, Nigerian Journal of Basic & Applied Psychology and African Journal of Psychological Assessment. 

Professor Zamani is the Board Chairman of Mandate Health Empowerment Initiative:Gbagyi Indigenous People Empowerment Initiative, Community Health and Environmental Research Initiative and the Association of Practicing Psychologists of Nigeria. 

His research interests are culture & mental health , psychological interventions, health systems policy analysis, leadership & corporate governance, substance abuse, security & peace studies and development studies.