Decolonial Feminist [Abolitionist] Community Psychology: On The Healing Capacity of Radical Justice in Postcolonial Nigeria
I spent this summer researching practices of psychotherapy in Nigeria. My research methodology included reading, interviews, and imagining theory in practice. I discovered a theme of psychotherapists addressing gender-based violence. I developed a theory that the work of Nigerian feminist psychotherapists and decolonial feminist community psychologists may be enriched by abolitionist frameworks. These frameworks argue that there are non-penal alternatives to addressing violence which include processes like psychotherapy. I propose that the addition of an abolitionist lens to the discipline, including practices like transformative justice, would be an asset. My project speaks to the healing capacity of psychotherapy aligned with transformative justice.