The Roles and Functions of Africana Psychology

This special edition of The Journal of Pan African Studies, a peer-reviewed journal, focuses on how scholars in the field of Africana Psychology have critically investigated and interrogated the life-worlds of people of African descent from an African-centered perspective. The authors examine definitions and conceptual models in African-centered Psychology, the historical development of African-centered Psychology, the relationship between African spirituality and African-centered Psychology, the relevance of culturally-specific psychological interventions and treatments with Black patients, the impact of media images on Africana identity, and the social viability of African-centered Psychology. From some of the pioneers in Africana Psychology that have laid the theoretical foundations, to emerging scholars in Africana Psychology, the contributors illustrate and exemplify the intergenerational transmission of knowledge that has occurred within Africana Psychological discourse. SEEKING THE SAKHU: AFRICANA PSYCHOLOGISTS IN SEARCH OF THE SPIRIT African Psychology and European Psychology differ on the very definition of what comprises the discipline of psychology. Is psychology the study of human behavior, the mind or the spirit? Erylene Piper Mandy and Taasogle Daryl Rowe's "Educating African-centered Psychologists: Towards a Comprehensive Paradigm" builds and elaborates on Africana Psychology as Sakhu or the illumination of the soul/spirit. In mapping the contours of this spiritual and intellectual journey, Mandy and Rowe argue that in order to become Sakhu Shetis, African-centered psychologists must become more actively engaged in the process of illuminating the spirit. Mandy and Rowe propose a framework for implementing spiritual concepts into the core of Africana Psychology. In "Zulu Traditional Healing, Afrikan Worldview and the Practice of Ubuntu: Deep Thought for Afrikan/Black Psychology," Kevin L. Washington presents the worldview of the Zulus as an ideal approach to understanding the psycho-spiritual experiences of people of African descent. Washington offers alternative conceptions of what constitutes healing within the domain of African-centered Psychology. The practice of Sakhu is demonstrated in Chante D. De Loach and Marissa N. Peterson's "African Spiritual Methods of Healing: The Use of Candomble in Traumatic Response". De Loach and Peterson discuss the role and function of African spirituality as an entity that manifests as a healing force that seeks to address the psycho-trauma experienced by Afro-Brazilians. Their analysis provides an application of spirituality within a cultural context that displays how spirituality directly impacts how people suffering from oppressive conditions benefit from spiritual/psychological services that emphasize spirituality at its core. AFRICANA PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY AND INTELLECTUAL HISTORY One of the most heated and debated topics within African psychological discourse has centered on issues related to Africana personality theory. Linda James Myers' and Suzette Speight's "Reframing Mental Health and Psychological Well-Being Among Persons of African Descent: Africana/Black Psychology Meeting the Challenges of Fractured Social and Cultural Realities" documents the dissemination and production of psychological knowledge relative to people of African descent over the last half of century. Myers and Speight argue that during this period African-centered psychologists diligently went about the task of defining and developing an alternative perspective to psychological well-being. Critical to their understanding of this alternative psychology is the notion that psychological concepts that emphasize cultural congruency are imperative to optimal mental health. Adding to this discussion is Kobi Kambon's and Terra Bowen's "Theories of African American Personality: Classification, Basic Constructs and Empirical Predictions/Assessment". Kambon and Bowen critique some of the knowledge production examined by Myers and Speight and provide a comprehensive review of African American Personality theories. …