Global Grassroots Responses
Weaving Together Healing and Social Justice
Course Description
As biopsychiatry and forced treatment spread around the world, traditional healing systems are erased in favor of approaches that fail to center the impacts of structural violence and oppression. In response, movements and communities across all continents are promoting culturally-grounded approaches that foster independence, inclusion, and autonomy. Bapu Trust in Pune, India and Sawubona healing circles created by the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) in the U.S. are two examples of community-led efforts that seamlessly integrate survivor-centered mental health advocacy with traditional healing systems and values.
Bapu Trust is an advocacy, policy, and training organization that creates, pilots, and monitors community inclusion programs throughout India. The Sawubona healing circles emerged as a way to address challenges specific to Black first responders during the COVID-19 crisis by equipping them with African-centered healing methods. In this session, we will explore how both Bapu Trust and ABPsi are creating powerful, widespread networks of community care that uplift the needs and agency of those who are most impacted by oppressive systems. We will bridge psychiatric survivorship, research, and practice, and introduce methods of fostering healing environments in which every person uses their own capacity to make choices and heal themselves through the use of culturally-grounded practices.
What you’ll learn:
The historical context underpinning Bapu Trust’s work, including the the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Bali Declaration
The success of Bapu Trust’s community care practices, specifying characteristics that are relevant and transferable to other contexts
The power of ABPsi’s Sawubona healing circles as a form of culturally-grounded practice embedded in Afro-centered theory
How to incorporate and adapt culturally-grounded principles and techniques for different communities and contexts
Methods of “reclaiming community” that center inclusion and autonomy
Faculty
BHARGAVI DAVAR, PHD
Bhargavi Davar was a childhood survivor of the Indian mental asylums. She identified as a person with a psychosocial disability having endured long-term trauma from those experiences. She completed her PhD on the ethical and epistemological foundations of the mental and behavioral sciences and the possibility of human freedom within those disciplines. Her work has been on gender, culture and disability studies, and the basis for the modern mental health policy frames in Asia. She was the Director of the Bapu Trust for Research on Mind & Discourse, Pune; and Convenor for Transforming Communities, Asia Pacific. Her work through these organizations was to advocate for the full realization of all human rights for persons with psychosocial disabilities, especially the right to live in the community.
evan auguste, phd
Evan Auguste is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Boston. His identities as a Haitian-African American man have informed his work on examining how the U.S.’s history of anti-Blackness has shaped psychological realities both in and outside of the country’s borders. He is the director of the A.S.I.L.I. Collective, a research group whose work focuses broadly on addressing the mental health consequences of structural anti-Blackness through the lens of Black liberation psychology. Their research involves community participatory, qualitative, and quantitative methods to examine the effects of disparate exposure to justice-contact for Black adolescents and intergenerational traumas for Haitian people. They also focus on developing and piloting anti-carceral and community based health interventions, such as the Association of Black Psychologists' Sawubona Healing Circles to promote healing from an African-centered framework. Our advocacy involves connecting with local, national, and international coalitions to promote policy, radical movement, and community change. He is currently a leadership fellow for the Coalition of Racial and Ethnic Psychological Associations and on the leadership team for In Cultured Company.
“I loved the real-world examples of alternatives to traditional biomedical model systems. Those of us in positions of power need to make room for old knowing, and new ideas, without trying to co-opt them or squeeze them into our capitalist boxes.”
What You Get
14 videos (2 hours of content) full of history, research, and unique perspectives
Exclusive readings and resources
Discussion with a creative community of professionals and advocates inside the course
A reference and resource list to aid ongoing learning and exploration on the course topics
Audience
This course is for:
Mental health and physical health professionals, including: clinicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, peer specialists, recovery support specialists, housing specialists, nurse practitioners, wellness support workers, coaches, holistic practitioners
Students
Activists
Family members and advocates
Anyone who works or plans to work with people experiencing mental health-related challenges
“As someone who does not have a primary background in psychology, but a user of services, it was significant to learn about how even healing practices popularized in the west were colonized with little regard to consequences.”
Take the Class
This self-paced course is hosted on Mighty Networks, home to IDHA's School for Transformative Mental Health. This virtual community space supports sustained learning, engagement with other students, access to supplemental resources, and opportunities to interact with your faculty.
We provide the option of enrolling for free, or at the supporter rate ($20) to ensure the sustainability of IDHA’s work and enable us to create more accessible, cutting-edge training content.
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FAQ
When does the course start and finish?
This is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course, content, or platform?
We love hearing your feedback on what we can do to improve our efforts to bring transformative mental health to the public! Shoot us an email at contact@idha-nyc.org and let us know your thoughts. If you disagree with any of the perspectives shown in this course - that's great! We encourage differing perspectives, so feel free to leave a comment in the course - so long as your comments remain respectful and you speak from your own point of view.
I am a person struggling with mental health issues/a family member of someone who is struggling. Can I take the course?
Absolutely! Just note that this course is geared towards professionals in the field, and will speak mostly to those working in a formal support role. However, we welcome anyone who wants to join!
Are refunds available?
At this time, all sales are final, we cannot offer refunds after purchase.