Justice In Therapy: Decolonising The Curriculum

Counselling and psychotherapy training in the UK is increasingly being asked to reckon with its colonial inheritance, Eurocentric canon, and the impact of structural injustice within therapeutic education.

Justice in Therapy: Decolonising the Curriculum is a free conference bringing together educators, practitioners, trainees, researchers and community leaders to explore what meaningful change in therapeutic training could look like. Hosted by Black Psychotherapy, in partnership with and sponsored by the University of East London School of Childhood and Social Care, this event marks the 5th Justice in Therapy conference, building on conversations, campaigning and organising held over the past 18 months. Key insights and recommendations from this work are captured in our Justice in Therapy report, which continues to inform the priorities for change in therapeutic education.

Together we will ask:

What must be dismantled, and what must be built, in order to decolonise counselling and psychotherapy education?

This conference is an invitation to move beyond performative diversity initiatives and towards justice in how therapy is taught, practiced and imagined.

Conference Themes

Across the day we will engage with presentations, workshops and discussions addressing topics such as:

• Re-designing counselling and psychotherapy curricula through decolonial frameworks

• Anti-oppressive and justice-oriented pedagogy in therapeutic training

• Challenging whiteness, Eurocentrism and colonial epistemologies in theory and practice

• Embedding Black, Indigenous and Global Majority psychologies into core teaching

• Student-led resistance and change within institutions

• Curriculum audit case studies

• Decolonising research methods, assessments and placement preparation

• Creative, embodied and community-based approaches to teaching and learning

• Institutional accountability and structural change in therapeutic education

Who this event is for

This conference is open to:

• Counsellors and psychotherapists • Trainees and students • Educators and training providers • Researchers • Community practitioners and organisers • Anyone interested in justice-informed approaches to therapy and therapeutic education

We particularly welcome attendance and participation from Black and racially minoritised communities whose voices and scholarship are often excluded from these settings

Black Psychotherapy

Black Psychotherapy is a mental health organisation supporting Black and racially minoritised communities in London and across the UK. Our team provides decolonial, intersectional and anti-oppressive therapy alongside supervision, training and consultancy on liberation and justice-based approaches to mental health and wellbeing. Through our low-cost community clinic in Brixton, as well as virtual sessions available nationwide, Black Psychotherapy works to expand access to culturally attuned care. Our approach centres community knowledge, challenges stigma, and directly addresses the impact of racial, cultural and faith-based trauma on mental health and wellbeing. Find out more about our work on our website, Instagram and LinkedIn.

The University of East London - School of Childhood and Social Care
Composed of the Department of Psychology and Human Development, the Department of Education, and the Department of Social Work, Counselling, and Social Care. The school plays a critical role not only within the university but also in shaping society, locally, nationally and internationally. Each department contributes uniquely to the understanding of human development, education, and social justice—core pillars that communities need now more than ever.

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Host or Publisher UEL - School of Childhood and Social Care