Beyond the Skulls of Our Colonised Ancestors

Outline

This presentation draws on a paper published in the European Journal of Psychotherapy and Counselling. It begins with a personal question that has followed me throughout my clinical training and practice. Can a therapist possess meaningful knowledge of all cultures? And what does it truly mean to be culturally attuned in the therapeutic space?

Through personal reflection, clinical vignettes, and engagement with post-colonial psychoanalytical thinkers including Kakar, Akhtar, Fanon, and Benjamin, the presentation explores what genuine cultural curiosity looks like in practice. It examines the risks of cultural competency as performance, the hybrid position many diaspora clients occupy in therapy, and what it means to de-shed our own assumptions in the room.

Aims of the Seminar

This is an invitation to think together about what decolonising psychotherapy looks and feels like between two people, each bringing their difference.

Facilitator

Shireen Noor

Venue

Online via Zoom