Cultural Threads: An Afrocentric Paradigm for Integrating Social Justice Principles in the Practice of Family Therapy in Africa

Abstract

Family therapy has been slowly but steadily growing on the African continent. Considering Africa's rich yet complex economic, political, and sociocultural history, it is essential for family therapy practitioners to integrate social justice (SJ) principles into their research, training, and practice of family therapy. By doing so, we can help foster more inclusive, culturally responsive, and meaningful support for the historically underrepresented communities of African descent. More importantly, we recommend that addressing SJ issues in the practice of family therapy in Africa be rooted in Afrocentric frameworks of care and practice. Drawing on existing literature, we introduce the African-Centered Wellness Model as a foundational framework for advancing socially just family therapy with African families. To demonstrate how the framework translates into clinical practice, two authors present case vignettes from their clinical work. A discussion of implications for integrating the principles of the model into research, training, and practice follows.