Black psychology approaches

Domain III · Humanistic, existential & experiential · Joseph White, Frederick B. Phillips · 1968

What it is

"Black psychology" is not one therapy. It is an intellectual and professional movement, usually dated to Joseph White's 1970 essay "Toward a Black Psychology" and to the founding of ABPsi in 1968. It also goes under the names African-centered or Afrocentric psychology. Its theorists include Wade…

Format

• Format. NTU was built for families and child welfare (family preservation and treatment foster care), as well as individuals and community programmes. Progressive Life Center workshops cover the therapist's role, the therapeutic use of rituals, and opening and closing rituals. NTU has also been…
• Structure. A circle starts with 10–12 introductory sessions. These are followed by ongoing consciousness-raising activities, exposure to history, and inspirational and mindfulness activities, all run in a group setting to spark healing and community action. One Canadian virtual circle ran over four…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Phillips names five phases: Harmony, Awareness, Alignment, Actualization, Synthesis. The full article and training materials are not drawn on. The goals and transition criteria below are therefore inferred from the phase names, the principles and the Progressive Life Center training agenda.
• Facilitators. Community members trained jointly by CHN and ABPsi. Training covers what emotional emancipation means, the intergenerational trauma literature, the structure of an EEC, and how to launch a circle.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• burnout and secondary trauma among Black clinicians. It is working when you feel more present with clients.
• abrupt endings forced by funding. Prepare early. It is working when the family describes the change as theirs.
• reframes that excuse harm to others. Keep accountability. It is working when the client adopts the new language without prompting.
• drawings that suggest abuse or danger, which call for safeguarding steps. It is working when members begin to talk about each other's views.
• acute risk in individuals. Have a clinician available to follow up one to one. It is working when people leave with a plan and a connection.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.