Empire to Emancipation: Potential Decolonial Pathways in Family Therapy
Abstract
ABSTRACT Family therapy, like any other theory within the helping professions, is as moulded by the systems of colonisation. This paper, which explores how this occurred, utilises client material to explore just how we might recognise, challenge and decolonise the ideas that have shaped our profession. Although presented through the lens of individual psychotherapy work, the author recognises that family therapy is well‐positioned in this regard and encourages readers to use their undoubted talents to challenge the structures that inhibit us as we work with clients from other varying cultures.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Counseling
Therapy
and Family Dynamics
Decolonial Thought and Epistemologies
Indigenous Health
Education
and Rights
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 1
- Publication date
- 16 February 2026
- Language
- EN