Decolonising psychotherapy is about more than inclusion. It’s about transformation. It asks us to remake therapy into something rooted in justice, solidarity, and liberation. Trans people deserve more than tolerance. They deserve therapy that honours their complexity, recognises their struggle, and affirms their right to exist fully and freely. Let’s build that therapy together.

Misdiagnoses: Black individuals are disproportionately diagnosed with schizophrenia compared to mood disorders, even when presenting with similar symptoms to white patients. This may stem from implicit bias, where clinicians misinterpret expressions of anger or distrust (often a reasonable response to systemic racism) as psychotic symptoms. Research has shown significant disparities in these diagnoses, highlighting the impact of bias.  

Assuming that forced migrants are now safe in the West is a harmful myth. While it may be relatively safer than the conditions they fled, forced migrants continue to face significant threats. Racism, xenophobia, and anti-migrant sentiments are pervasive, as highlighted by the racist and Islamophobic riots across the UK in the summer of 2024, culminating in the tragic arson attack on a hotel housing migrants.

Stigma often leads therapists to view sex work as inherently harmful, framing it as the source of a client’s distress rather than examining the systemic and societal issues at play. Decolonising psychotherapy involves affirming sex workers’ agency and dismantling biases, recognising that their challenges are often rooted in the environments and systems they navigate, not the work itself.

Decolonising psychotherapy means moving beyond Eurocentric, individual-focused models to include diverse cultural practices like collective healing. Many BIPOC communities process trauma through shared experiences and mutual support, which resonate deeply with their lived realities.