Liberation Psychology: Clinical Practice in Contexts of Oppression
CE Hours: 1
Author: Dr. Jennifer Cox, LPC
Audience: Licensed Professional Counselors, LMFTs, Social Workers, and Mental Health Professionals
CE Type: Self-Study
Course Overview
Traditional psychology often focuses on individual pathology while ignoring the social and political conditions that create distress. Liberation psychology, emerging from Latin America through the work of Ignacio Martín-Baró, reframes the role of mental health professionals as agents of collective healing. This course introduces the principles of liberation psychology and their application in counseling practice, emphasizing cultural awareness, empowerment, and social justice ethics.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
1. Define liberation psychology and identify its historical roots.
2. Explain how systemic oppression contributes to psychological suffering.
3. Apply liberation-informed approaches within clinical settings.
4. Recognize the ethical responsibilities of counselors in contexts of injustice.
Section 1: Origins and Foundations
Liberation psychology originated in Latin America during the 1980s amid political violence and inequality. Ignacio Martín-Baró argued that psychology must be ‘of the people,’ not ‘for the powerful.’ Drawing from Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, it promotes critical consciousness—helping clients link their suffering to systemic injustice. The central shift: from diagnosing individuals to decolonizing systems of thought.
Section 2: Core Principles
1. Contextualized Suffering – Mental distress is understood within social, economic, and political systems.
2. Critical Consciousness – Therapy fosters awareness of structural causes of suffering.
3. Collective Healing – Healing occurs through community, not just individuals.
4. Counselor Positionality – Neutrality is replaced with ethical solidarity and reflection on privilege and power dynamics.
Section 3: Applying Liberation Psychology in Counseling
A. Clinical Practice: – Integrate cultural and historical narratives into assessment. – Frame coping strategies as survival responses, not pathology. – Use agency-centered language to restore power and belonging. – Employ Narrative Therapy, Somatic Awareness, and Community-based interventions.
B. Community Engagement: – Partner with grassroots and faith-based organizations. – Offer empowerment-focused psychoeducation. – Support collective actions promoting dignity and safety.
C. Supervision and Self-Reflection:
Reflective prompts:
• How has my privilege shaped how I interpret client behavior?
• What discomfort arises when clients express anger at injustice?
• How might neutrality function as avoidance?
Section 4: Ethical and Professional Integration Relevant ACA Code of Ethics: –
A.6.a. Advocacy – promoting systemic change. – E.5.b. Cultural Sensitivity – awareness in assessment and diagnosis. – C.2.g. Self-Care – sustaining ethical activism. Boundaries: Advocacy requires intention and clarity. Counselors must balance empathy with professional integrity. Silence in the face of oppression may function as complicity; awareness and action are ethical imperatives.
Section 5: Clinical Vignettes and Reflections
Vignette 1: The Silenced Worker Marisol, a 28-year-old woman from Guatemala, works long shifts at a poultry plant. She comes to therapy describing panic attacks that start before work. When the counselor suggests “deep breathing,” she nods politely but later says, “Breathing doesn’t stop the supervisor from yelling.” In supervision, the counselor realizes their focus on symptom control ignored the social violence of the workplace. They begin helping Marisol name what’s happening as exploitation, connect her with worker advocacy resources, and reframe her “panic” as her body’s protest against unsafe conditions.
Reflection: – What emotional shift happens when the counselor validates the political context of her distress? – How might traditional CBT inadvertently individualize systemic trauma here?
Vignette 2: The Angry Student Jamal, a 21-year-old Black college student, tells his therapist, “I’m tired of being calm about racism.” He says therapy feels “too polite.” The counselor feels defensive, noticing their urge to steer the conversation back to “stress management.” After reflection, the counselor acknowledges that Jamal’s anger is a form of self-preservation, not pathology. They shift toward exploring collective empowerment—connecting him to campus activism and spaces where anger can be transformed into agency.
Reflection: – How does counselor discomfort maintain systemic silencing? – What does it look like to join, rather than neutralize, a client’s anger?
Vignette 3: The Disillusioned Therapist Lina, a new counselor working at a nonprofit serving refugees, reports compassion fatigue. She feels hopeless watching clients cycle through poverty, legal threats, and burnout. A supervisor introduces liberation psychology and invites Lina to explore moral injury—the pain of working within unjust systems. Lina begins integrating advocacy into her role: joining community coalitions, helping clients write impact statements, and facilitating collective storytelling groups. She finds renewed meaning in connecting micro-level therapy to macro-level change.
Reflection: – How might acknowledging systemic constraints reduce burnout? – What ethical boundary lines keep advocacy sustainable?
Summary:
Liberation psychology challenges counselors to widen the frame of healing. Individuals exist within historical and political realities that shape distress. Ethical practice includes not only empathy but advocacy, bridging awareness with social responsibility. Liberation-informed counseling is both clinical and civic—it restores agency to clients while reconnecting therapists to purpose.
References Martín-Baró, I. (1994). Writings for a Liberation Psychology. Harvard University Press. Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Continuum. Watkins, M., & Shulman, H. (2008). Toward Psychologies of Liberation. Palgrave Macmillan. Comas-Díaz, L. (2016). Racial trauma recovery: A race-informed therapeutic approach to liberation. American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA Code of Ethics.