Jennifer Mullan: On Decolonizing Therapy

It is well known that mental healthcare and therapy are not systems that are readily accessible to everyone, especially those from marginalized communities. Created and maintained by white men, most traditional therapeutic practices do not address systematic oppression, ancestral trauma, LGTBQIA+ mental health and wellness, and the general mental, emotional, or physical plight of BIPOC and marginalized communities. Psychologist and CIIS alumni Dr. Jennifer Mullan has spent much of her career addressing these inequities and providing spaces for healing through the use of decolonizing practices like centralizing historical and intergenerational trauma, which she identifies as ancestral trauma. In this episode, educator and sexologist Bianca Laureano joins Dr. Mullan for a warm and powerful conversation exploring how we can tend to our emotional and mental health while also holding systemic oppression accountable. This episode was recorded during a live online event on March 11, 2021. A transcript is available at ciispod.com. You can also watch a recording of this and many more of our conversation events by searching for “CIIS Public Programs” on YouTube.