Reflections of indigenous, racialized, and Global South practitioners and scholars on liberatory community wellbeing and mental health praxis: A qualitative study.

Abstract

This qualitative study explores how Indigenous, racialized, and Global South practitioners and scholars engage in liberatory praxis, drawing on decolonial theory and critical psychologies, to reimagine community wellbeing and mental health (CWMH) beyond Western-based psychological frameworks. The study addresses the need for culturally relevant, reflective, and justice-oriented approaches that center relational care and collective healing. Using purposive sampling, I conducted semi-structured interviews with 11 participants (7 women, 4 men) across Lebanon, Palestine, South Africa, the United States, Australia, India, and Indonesia. Using thematic analysis, I identified six key themes: (1) integrate experiential, reflexive, and community-based knowledge; (2) critique the harms of modernity/coloniality in psychology frameworks; (3) use counterstorytelling to resist dominant narratives; (4) engage in personal and collective healing, unlearning, and liberation; (5) approach praxis as a nonlinear and evolving process; and (6) challenge academic and professional spaces and discuss creating alternative collectives in these spaces. These insights demonstrate the limitations of Western psychological models and affirm the importance of culturally relevant and liberatory praxis in CWMH. In response to this study, emerging collectives have formed in Canada, Lebanon, and the United States to extend these practices through shared praxis, mutual care, and community-based application.