Introduction

“Sometimes the first step towards change is closing our eyes, taking a breath, and imagining a different way.” -Jaqueline Woodson from “The Year We Learned to Fly”

Why we wrote this book

We developed this workbook because we believe that education is not neutral. Instead, it is intrinsically tied to social conditions and dynamics and situated within historical, social, economic, and political realities. In the United States, psychology has often been based on the work of White, cis-gender, middle to upper-class, sane, monotheistic, able-bodied, men. This centering reflects an ethnocentric colonization of the field where theories are presented as universal “truths” from a decontextualized and ahistorical perspective. This is done despite the reality that theories are deeply contextual and historically based. Western psychology tends to focus on understanding individuals’ relationships to intrapsychic, genetic, neurobiological, and familial factors, with recent expansions into “cultural” factors. However, the understanding of context is limited without a true emphasis on exploring systemic, oppressive dynamics on individuals, families, and communities. This centering and focus leaves out the wisdom and experiences of so many people, groups, and cultures, often making it hard for many students to see themselves in psychology in general, and psychology textbooks in general.

In addition, typical textbooks rely on the banking method which involves memorizing information and demonstrating that it has been memorized via multiple-choice exams. In contrast, this workbook aims to cultivate and strengthen your critical thinking skills and your capacity for self-reflection and group reflection via individual and group activities and small and large group discussions. A goal of this workbook is to foster critical engagement with the traditional canon of knowledge within western psychology by contextualizing it within the histories of structural oppression and resistance.

Utilizing a liberation psychology framework, in this workbook, we explicitly advocate for 1) centering the stories and lived experiences of those historically marginalized and oppressed, for example BIPOC, LGBTQIIA+, working class, and people with disabilities, 2) identifying the contributions of psychologists who are not considered part of the “canon” of founding figures in the field, 3) attending to the influence of socio-cultural-economic dynamics on individuals, families, and communities, 4) increasing critical consciousness and critical thinking skills, and 5) promoting an action-oriented approach to engaging with psychology courses. We hope that the information, questions, and activities in this workbook foster a deeper appreciation of your own wisdom and the complexities found within the field of psychology.

In the end, we wrote this book because we wanted to tell different stories than those typically found in textbooks. We wanted to share stories that reflect the breadth of people’s experiences; their struggles, their resistance, and their wisdom. Stories are based on the imagining and enacting of different ways of being. Stories that invite reflection, change, and transformation.

Who we are

I came to this workbook project via a lifelong love of learning. I am a Nigerian-born, American-raised, pansexual, Black, Yoruba and Itsekiri, cis-gender woman, who grew up working class and is now a middle-class, mother, oldest child, and child of immigrants. And all of my identities, with my accompanying experiences of oppression and privilege, have fed my curiosity about the world from a young age. Why is the world as it is? Why do people behave the way that they do? Some of the answers I gained were at dinner tables with my parent’s Nigerian friends. They talked about American support of military coups in Nigeria, they talked about colonization and ne-colonization. And they did not shew me away, instead, they let me stay, listen, and learn. This taught me that I had the right to learn about history, current affairs, and systemic oppression, even at a young age. It taught me that learning is also through stories and that we all have stories. My curiosity led me to study in the field of psychology, first in undergrad, and then later in graduate school. However, in undergrad, I found the answers to my questions to be heavily individualized and Western-focused. Western focused in a way that often demonized the “other.” And in so many of my identities, I was the other.

This led me to graduate studies in clinical and community psychology. Clinical psychology because I knew I wanted to work with people who had experienced trauma. Community psychology because I had lived the individual, familial, and community impacts of systemic oppression. I had lived that our survival was based on resistance and healthy community relationships. All of these experiences and more put me on the path to liberation psychology. I never thought that teaching would be in my future. Instead, along with being a clinician, I became a workshop and training facilitator. This offered me the opportunity to share and learn with others. However, after a friend asked me to teach a class on diversity, racism, oppression, and privilege at the graduate level, I developed an appreciation for how teaching and learning with students can be part of the path of liberation. For me, liberation asks us to explore and then create the conditions we need to live our full, authentic lives in community with each other and the earth. Where we are not defined by society, culture, or families telling us who we are and how we should live, but instead with curiosity and a sense of interconnectedness, we do that with one another. We are not just given information, our experiences and questions are integral in creating what we want. I believe liberatory dynamics can be taught in courses. This is true even though the majority of courses are taught through the banking method, whereby an “expert” uni directly transfers “wisdom, facts, knowledge” to the learner.

After multiple semesters of teaching on my own as an adjunct at the undergraduate level, I saw that so many textbooks, particularly introductory ones, followed this banking method while also reinforcing Western “norms” around individualism and who is labeled the expert. And I knew that there was more to understanding ourselves, our families, communities, and the world around us. Books like “Teaching to Transgress” and “Sisters of the Yam” by bell hooks inspired me to approach teaching and working with students in a different, more holistic way.

However, the life of an adjunct can be an incredibly busy one and it takes time to bring in different perspectives, support critical thinking about systems of oppression and privilege, offer images and narratives of psychologists who do not reflect the Western norms, and create courses with the understanding that students have different learning styles and needs. In conversation with my colleagues, I heard that other adjuncts had similar pressures along with the desire to approach teaching from a more critical perspective. This workbook was born of all of this and more. It was born of a little girl who was taught from a young age that she could learn about big issues. A young woman who saw that classes and courses did not speak to her story and to the stories of people like her (and not like her). To the young adult who understood that critically engaging with and working to change systems of oppression was an important aspect of the field of psychology. To the middle-aged woman that I am now who wants to share and learn from others about how we get free.

Who I am, and how I understand my responsibility as an educator is largely impacted by some of my history.

I grew up in a suburb of Philadelphia, a daughter of Italian-American parents. My father worked for the government and my mother was a teacher. I am a cis-gendered, able-bodied, white woman, who attended a Catholic high school and later Temple University. My understanding of racism as a child was based on my father’s limited explanation of the riots in Newark, New Jersey, which was simply that racism existed, and that it was serious. He also told the story that the government in New York did not hire Italians until the mid-70s and that he held resentment toward the Italian mafia which he saw as the source of stereotypes that were held against himself and his family. I grew up in a culture that embraced gender roles and with no mention of sexism. Other forms of oppression were acknowledged, but I was left with no understanding of context, nor how oppression was ingrained in every system within the United States.

When I was in my early 20’s I worked for a social work agency in Philadelphia, where I first saw the impact of racism and poverty within major systems such as education, healthcare, and justice systems. Although I was a witness to the effects of oppressive systems, I lacked an understanding of the history that had created them, as well as the role I was playing in them.  I was in college at the time and took classes that covered racism but remained without an understanding of how oppression was formed and maintained, nor an understanding of my role in working to confront and dismantle these forms of oppression. While I was in graduate school, working toward my doctorate in clinical psychology, I externed and interned in correctional facilities, which I believe are some of the clearest demonstrations of racism within this country. A colleague who was a social worker, along with some of the men who were incarcerated, encouraged me to independently learn more about racism, other forms of oppression, and what I could do in my role as a psychologist.

This brings me to address my role as an educator at a college. I am excited to share this workbook because it is a resource I wish I had as a student.  Many of us working in higher education have commented on the limitations that exist within psychology classes in that there is a lack of focus on diversity and addressing oppression. There are many reasons for this, and using myself as an example, many of us have simply repeated the kind of education that we received, one that does not encourage critical thinking or cultural humility. This workbook is important because it offers something that textbooks do not, which is an avenue for challenging, reflecting, and reconstructing our understanding of psychology. My understanding of “liberation” is still evolving as I consider the positions I hold as an educator, psychologist, and community member. I hope that those who use the workbook take on the task of questioning and confronting traditional educational practices. I believe that this workbook is a way for educators to broaden their understanding of how education works, and what it means to truly value our students.

How to approach using this book

This workbook was created for you to have a space to reflect on liberation psychology principles and how they connect to your courses. For this workbook to be the most effective, we believe that it is important that you approach the following information with a spirit of curiosity and a willingness to explore, challenge your beliefs, and share your experiences, along with your individual, familial, and cultural wisdom.

We encourage you to engage with the embodiment practices offered as they can give you a moment to pause, ground, and better connect to the material. While we encourage embodiment (the connection between mind and body), we encourage you to engage in a way that feels right for you. These practices are offerings; they are suggestions and guidelines and the priority is to listen to your body as it knows what is best. We also encourage you to engage in the closing exercises. It can be a lot to take in this information and a pause to transition can support you.

To reflect on the information, we also encourage you to take notes and ask questions for each chapter. What information were you aware of? What was a surprise? How do you feel after reviewing the information? How does this apply to my classes or to my life? In your notes and questions, we encourage you to create space for feelings and emotional reactions. This will be useful to consider when designing your course or deciding how to use this workbook.

When it comes to engaging in the group activities in this workbook, we suggest that you approach your fellow students from the perspective of listening to learn as opposed to listening to respond. What do you have to offer, but also what do you have to learn? Groups are composed of people with different perspectives, experiences, and viewpoints. Because of this, conflict or difference in opinions might arise. Instead of fearing this, we encourage you to look at conflict as generative, something that helps us all learn if we engage with the conflict from a place of respecting others. We do not want to tell you what to think, instead, we offer a framework for how to engage with psychological theories and perspectives. This is in the spirit of critical thinking, something that we often encourage with our students. Again, we recommend that in group conversations space is created for feelings and emotions. These topics are not academic for many, they are part of lived experience. As such, people will have feelings about this. We encourage you to create spaces where everyone can participate without being silenced or experience tone policing.

We hope this workbook becomes a tool for critical consciousness-raising and a source of learning about the varied and diverse stories and people of psychology.

Coping and Wellness Strategies

This workbook might bring up a variety of thoughts and feelings. You may have well-used and helpful strategies to help you manage whatever comes up for you. We offer a non-comprehensive list of wellness strategies for your consideration. Which ones do you already use? Which ones do you want to try? Is there any missing that you would like to add?