“Will there be a willingness to actually engage with it?”: Exploring attitudes toward culturally integrative psychotherapy among Canada’s African community.

Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, Vol 33(1), Mar 2023, 68-85; doi:10.1037/int0000289The added focus on health equity and multiculturalism discourses in applied psychology and scholarship has sparked new interest in exploring how traditional healing systems could improve the well-being of culturally diverse groups through culturally integrated healing systems. While emerging developments add credibility to longstanding practices, it is essential to recognize elements of cultural hegemony and Anti-Black racism that influence Western value systems and validation hierarchies. Acknowledging the tumultuous relationship shared by Africa and the West, this research used a postcolonial framework to explore how Canada’s African community might respond to efforts to culturally integrate African healing traditions (AHT) and Western psychotherapeutic systems. Semi-structured interviews with 10 participants were analyzed using a critical approach informed by constructivist grounded theory methodology. While most participants viewed the therapeutic integration efforts as beneficial to the African community, the results showed that several underlying internal and external resistance factors could impact how the community receives and engages with the intervention. Drawing attention to the realities faced by Canada's African community, the findings begin to address some of the compounding factors impeding mental health access and equity advancements for the African community in Canada. ...
Source: Journal of Psychotherapy Integration - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research