Decolonizing Psychedelic Therapy: A Prayer for Awareness, Call for Commitment, and Ofering of Applications

Colonial powers, including the U.S., have historically used drug policy to oppress. The author argues that many psychotherapy models still embed this structural oppression. By combining post-colonial studies, liberation psychology, and psychedelic-assisted therapy, the chapter offers practical guidance for dismantling neo-colonial practices in the field. It provides a framework for therapists to recognize systemic oppression on cultural and individual levels, help clients process cultural trauma, and use psychedelic-assisted therapy as a path toward collective liberation.

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Abstract

For centuries, colonialist powers, like the U.S.A., have been using drug policy as a tactic of oppression. In this chapter, Danielle M. Herrera responds directly to the damage wrought by the ongoing impact of colonization and the structural oppression embedded in many psychotherapy models. Weaving together a dialogue between post-colonial studies, liberation psychology, and psychedelic-assisted therapy, Herrera provides key considerations and practical guidance pertaining to the dismantling of neo-colonial practices in the field and broadening the accessibility of psychedelic healing. Herrera offers the reader a foundational framework for attuning to the manifestations of systemic oppression on both cultural and individual levels, assisting clients in metabolizing cultural trauma, and opening expanded pathways toward collective liberation through psychedelic-assisted therapy.