Bridging the Personal and the Political: Practices for a Liberation Psychology

Abstract

In the Irish context, legacies of colonialism, the Northern Ireland conflict situation, and the strength of community and women's liberation movements all provide rich resources for understanding the processes involved in both oppression and liberation. This paper draws on the theoretical and research literature and on Irish experiences to develop an understanding of some of the processes and practices that aid in liberation. The research is grounded in diverse writings on oppression and liberation, which include writings on colonialism (E. Duran & B. Duran, 1995; F. Fanon, 1967; V. Kenny, 1985, L. Maracle, 1996), feminist psychology (J. B. Miller, 1986; S. Wilkinson, 1996), liberation psychology (H. A. Bulhan, 1985; L. Comas-Díaz, M. B. Lykes, & R. D. Alarcon, 1998; I. Martín-Baró 1994; Starhawk, 1987), and psychological aspects of racism (b. hooks, 1993; A. Mama, 1995; R. J. Watts, D. M. Griffith, & J. Abdul-Adil, 1999), homophobia (A. R. D'Augelli & C. J. Patterson, 1995), poverty (K. O'Neill, 1992), and other dimensions of oppression.

Social Inequality and Racial Discrimination: Risk Factors for Health Disparities in Children of Color

“…75 Exposure to racial discrimination is also a risk factor for violence in male black children 6,122 and is associated with lower levels of moral reasoning and development, empathy, and perceptions of justice. 104,[123][124][125][126][127][128] Exposure to racial discrimination in children of color is also consistently related to internalizing (anxiety, depression, and withdrawal) and externalizing (anger and aggression) behavior, and these associations increase during adolescence. 97 …”

“…151 Because racialdiscrimination exposure is associated with lower levels of empathy, moral development, and perceptions of injustice, children who are exposed to chronic racial discrimination could also be less likely to develop the perceptions of empathy and moral justice that prevent violent behaviors. [123][124][125][126][127][128] Recent findings also suggest relationships between hostility and aggression, which have been associated with exposure to racial discrimination, 45,97,122 and inflammatory disease, as measured by interleukin 6 and CRP. 152 …”

Exploring the meaning of participation in a community art project: A case study on the Seeming project

“…One ironic consequence of being marginalised is that people start to internalize the way they have been unjustly portrayed in that marginalisation process (Campbell & McLean, 2002;Moane, 2003). Therefore part of the meaningfulness of The Seeming was in its ability to make people problematise the way they identify themselves.…”

Contribuciones de la Psicología de la Liberación a la Integración de la Población Inmigrante

“…Algunos grupos utilizan el poder para adquirir privilegios y establecer relaciones opresivas con otros grupos (Fanon, 1963;Martín-Baró, 1994;Nelson y Prilleltensky, 2005). La opresión en los contextos de recepción es considerada como el proceso de dominación a través del cual la población local trata de ganar y mantener privilegios sobre los recién llegados, restringiendo su acceso a los recursos y limitando su capacidad para responder (Fanon, 1963;Freire, 1972;Nelson y Prilleltensky, 2005 mica, ejercida a través de la imposición de condiciones laborales injustas; control sexual y afectivo, negando el derecho al reagrupamiento familiar; control cultural, degradando sus valores y tradiciones culturales; control político, conculcando sus derechos al voto; y a través de la fragmentación social-alimentando actitudes xenófobas y racistas contra y entre los propios colectivos de inmigrantes (Moane, 2003). Privan a la población inmigrante de voz y capacidad para elegir, limitan y restringen su acceso a los recursos comunitarios y étnicos, distorsionan la información y la imagen que la población local tiene sobre ellos y sobre su cultura, estigmatizándoles y excluyéndoles de la vida ciudadana (Luque-Ribelles, 2010).…”