Reclaiming love, wisdom, and healing through decolonial and liberation psychologies: A call to action

Abstract

This special issue, an outgrowth of Dr. Thema Bryant's 2023 American Psychological Association presidential initiatives, highlights the practical application of decolonial and liberation psychologies. Contributors to this issue address the diverse lived experiences of people of the Global Majority and prioritize the reclamation of epistemologies and perspectives that have been marginalized, excluded, or erased from most applications and practices of psychology. Following a brief introduction to decolonial and liberation psychologies, we express our gratitude to those who have inspired our dreams of new ways of doing psychology and also reflect on the challenging global crises and life challenges that have informed our editing and writing. We describe our decolonial editorial process that intentionally incorporated the humanizing, holistic, restorative, and communal values of liberating psychologies. Brief descriptions of the 16 articles in this special issue are organized around three interrelated themes-reclaiming love, reclaiming wisdom, and reclaiming healing-and articulate how these themes are applied across a range of healing, educational, and community settings that serve persons with diverse social identities across multiple regions around the globe. The entire project is rooted in the principles and values of decolonial and liberation psychologies, which we outline in a manifesto that reflects our guiding vision, serves as a call to action, and emphasizes healing practices infused with love, wisdom, joy, and inclusion. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).