Toward Psychologies of Liberation

Innovative Approaches to Healing and Community Well-Being

M Watkins author H Shulman author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Palgrave Macmillan

Published:15th Jul '08

Should be back in stock very soon

This paperback is available in another edition too:

Toward Psychologies of Liberation cover

This book presents innovative methodologies for healing collective traumas, emphasizing the importance of community well-being and liberation psychology throughout the world.

In Toward Psychologies of Liberation, the authors explore the intricate relationship between psychological healing and community well-being. They delve into the creation of public homeplaces, emphasizing the significance of liberation arts, critical participatory action research, and public dialogue as vital components of liberation psychology. By addressing the collective traumas stemming from colonialism and globalization, the book seeks to illuminate the pathways toward healing and reconciliation in various contexts around the globe.

The narrative shifts from outlining the psychological and community wounds prevalent in unjust and violent environments to showcasing innovative community projects that aim to mend these wounds. Through engaging examples from diverse regions, including Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe, the United States, and the Pacific Islands, the authors highlight the transformative potential of collaborative efforts in fostering individual and communal well-being. The book serves as a bridge between theory and practice, offering a robust theoretical foundation alongside participatory methodologies.

By drawing on insights from psychoanalysis, trauma studies, and contemporary cultural work, Toward Psychologies of Liberation enriches our understanding of the necessary healing processes for creating more just and peaceful societies. It fosters a dialogical convergence of liberatory psychological theories and practices, ultimately aiming to inspire both individual and community transformation through its profound exploration of the arts and social engagement.

'This landmark book takes us on an unforgettable journey across disciplines, countries, spiritualities, and techniques to teach us twenty-first century psychologies of liberation. Authors Watkins and Shulman transform the discipline of psychology, showing us its connections to all disciplines concerned with liberating the imagination. Across international fields of difference, these authors never give up the prize: social and psychic emancipation. In doing so, they define what 'decoloniality' means for the twenty-first century.' - Chela Sandoval, Associate Professor of Liberation Philosophy, Chair, Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA.

'A scholarly, heartfelt, and desperately needed re-visioning of psychology.' - Dr Craig Chalquist, JFK University, USA

'One cannot help but recommend this text with utmost enthusiasm. Although not by any means a summary of its plural subject, Toward Psychologies of Liberation can be read as multi-layered digest of the major psychological, philosophical, and theological roots of this movement, as well as a review of some of the major problems tackled by theorists and practitioners within the tradition. Watkins& Shulman have crafted for us a major tour de force, broad in scope and encyclopedic in nature.' - Journal of Religion and Health

'Toward Psychologies of Liberation' provides us with a brilliant and timely compilation, in the mode of an appreciative evaluation, of these diverse strands that might be woven into the fabric of critical and progressive social science...This is a path-breaking book, and an enormous service to our scholarly community in the extensiveness and sophistication of its coverage...It is a remarkable work which deserves widespread attention.' - Barnaby B. Barratt, Psychoanalysis, Culture and Society

'[A] carefully crafted, and in places truly inspiring, piece of work...It is my hope that Watkins and Shulman's book opens up thespace for multi-perspective stories, anecdotes and reflective practice of liberatory psychology. of its sucesses as well as its challenges' - Subjectivity

ISBN: 9780230537699

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

380 pages