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Sharma R, Kivell N. A self-heuristic inquiry: Unpacking the use of "Decolonization" in therapy and mental health care with and for racialized communities. Am J Community Psychol 2024; 73:170-182. [PMID: 36974929 DOI: 10.1002/ajcp.12657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Revised: 05/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
As a registered psychotherapist and art therapist, my clinical training was primarily based on North American clinical approaches influenced by traditional Euro and western-centric clinical theories of human behavior. I completed my training feeling certain that traditional clinical mental health practices were not an appropriate fit for racialized communities and could have negative implications for their healing and well-being. As clinicians, it is our moral obligation to support and enhance the quality of life for marginalized groups. We can do this by challenging our values and knowledge that have been defined and influenced by structures (i.e., education, training, etc.) embedded in these colonial teachings. For this paper, I used a heuristic self-inquiry research method to investigate these concerns. I interviewed other racialized psychotherapists practicing in Turtle Island (currently mostly occupied by the political entities of Canada and the United States) with the aim to learn how and if decolonization can be used in therapy practice. With this research, I (1) identified a gap in care for racialized communities, (2) questioned if or how a decolonizing approach to care should be considered, (3) explored my discomfort with practitioners in the field that claim their position on decolonizing therapy, practice, and approaches, and lastly (4) propose other ways of knowing that can inform new ways of practicing therapy. The results of this research helped to problematize the language and use of decolonizing therapeutic practices while learning about other concepts that may be relevant yet distinct, such as principles of coloniality/decoloniality. Those of us, therapists or researchers, wanting to disrupt the current practice of therapy need to work together, share knowledge, and challenge each other, so that we can transform the way we practice as psychotherapists. This paper is my contribution to this conversation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rajni Sharma
- Community Psychology Department, Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Natalie Kivell
- Community Psychology Department, Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
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Wiese JL, Watson TM, Owusu-Bempah A, Hyshka E, Wells S, Robinson M, Elton-Marshall T, Rueda S. Overpoliced and Underrepresented: Perspectives on Cannabis Legalization From Members of Racialized Communities in Canada. Contemp Drug Probl 2023; 50:25-45. [PMID: 36733492 PMCID: PMC9885015 DOI: 10.1177/00914509221142156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/07/2022]
Abstract
Historically, overpolicing of some racialized and Indigenous groups in Canada has resulted in unequal application of drug laws contributing to disproportionate rates of charges and convictions in these populations. Criminal records severely and negatively impact an individual's life and can perpetuate cycles of poverty and socioeconomic disadvantage. On October 17, 2018, Canada legalized cannabis production, distribution, sale, and possession for non-medical purposes. Advocates of criminal justice reform have raised concerns that Indigenous and racialized people may not equitably benefit from legalization due to unequal police surveillance and drug enforcement. These groups are among priority populations for research on cannabis and mental health, but their views on cannabis regulation have been largely absent from research and policy-making. To address this gap, we asked self-identified members of these communities about their lived experiences and perspectives on cannabis legalization in Canada. Between September 2018 and July 2019, we conducted semistructured interviews and focus groups with 37 individuals in Québec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. During this phase of early cannabis legalization, participants responded to questions about anticipated public health risks and benefits of legalization, how their jurisdiction is responding to legalization, and what community resources would be needed to address legalization impacts. We conducted a thematic analysis and identified five major themes in the data related to race and early cannabis legalization: overpolicing of racialized communities, severity of penalties in new cannabis legislation, increased police powers, and underrepresentation of racialized groups in the legal cannabis market and in cannabis research. Participants discussed opportunities to support cannabis justice, including establishing priority licenses, issuing pardons or expunging criminal records, and reinvesting cannabis revenue into impacted communities. This work begins to address the paucity of Indigenous and racialized voices in cannabis research and identifies potential solutions to injustices of cannabis prohibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica L. Wiese
- Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction
and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Tara Marie Watson
- Provincial System Support Program, Centre for Addiction and Mental
Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Akwasi Owusu-Bempah
- Department of Sociology, University of Toronto, Mississauga,
Ontario, Canada
| | - Elaine Hyshka
- School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada
| | - Samantha Wells
- Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction
and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Ontario,
Canada,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Ontario,
Canada
| | - Margaret Robinson
- Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Dalhousie
University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Tara Elton-Marshall
- Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction
and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Ontario,
Canada,School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa,
Ontario, Canada
| | - Sergio Rueda
- Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction
and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Ontario,
Canada,Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Ontario,
Canada,Sergio Rueda, Institute for Mental Health
Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 33 Ursula Franklin
Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2S1, Canada.
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