Ubuntu Psychotherapy
Addressing the Transgenerational Trauma of Afrikan/Black People
(First Edition)
©2025, 208 pages
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Ubuntu Psychotherapy: Addressing the Transgenerational Trauma of Afrikan/Black People introduces a paradigm for understanding and treating psychological health amongst Afrikan people, informed by a distinct Afrikan worldview. The book describes Ubuntu Psychology as a mental health model and the practice of Ubuntu psychotherapy, grounded in the philosophy of Ubuntu, a Zulu concept reflecting community interconnectedness and humanity towards others. This model is presented as a vital framework for more effective psychotherapeutic interventions, especially for those of Afrikan descent.
The core content revolves around culturally sensitive practice in mental health service delivery, addressing the unique psycho-spiritual challenges faced by Afrikan Americans as well as other diasporic Afrikans. It explores the necessity to incorporate an understanding of Afrikan peoples' essence, experiences, and worldview into the healing process. It also discusses a healing paradigm comprised of Remembering, Reminding, Reframing, Revitalizing, and Re-normalizing within the context of Afrikan and Black experiences.
Ubuntu Psychotherapy is well-suited for programs and courses in counseling, psychology, social work, criminal justice, mental health, cultural studies, and Afrikan studies. The approach it advocates provides essential knowledge for mental health professionals, particularly those working with clients of Afrikan ancestry.
The core content revolves around culturally sensitive practice in mental health service delivery, addressing the unique psycho-spiritual challenges faced by Afrikan Americans as well as other diasporic Afrikans. It explores the necessity to incorporate an understanding of Afrikan peoples' essence, experiences, and worldview into the healing process. It also discusses a healing paradigm comprised of Remembering, Reminding, Reframing, Revitalizing, and Re-normalizing within the context of Afrikan and Black experiences.
Ubuntu Psychotherapy is well-suited for programs and courses in counseling, psychology, social work, criminal justice, mental health, cultural studies, and Afrikan studies. The approach it advocates provides essential knowledge for mental health professionals, particularly those working with clients of Afrikan ancestry.
Kevin Washington, Ph.D. (Mwata Kairi Emeka Sankara) is a licensed Afrikan-Centered psychologist who uses Afrikan drumming and dance as a part of his practice. He has taught/lectured at several colleges nationally and internationally including Howard University and the University of the West Indies-Cave Hill. He is a past president of the Association of Black Psychologists and is former Associate Professor and Chair of the Sociology/Psychology Department at Grambling State University. He is an adjunct professor at Marywood University and Harris Stowe University, the national program director of Black Marriage Day, president of Black Mental Health Matters, acting president of The World Mental Health Coalition, as well as a Staff Psychologist with U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. Moreover, he is the founder/trainer of Ubuntu Psychotherapy and an Ubuntu Practitioner/Healer.
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"Ubuntu is now one of the more widely used African constructs to be adopted by the Euro-western cultural mainstream. Unfortunately, it also remains one of the least understood and seldom practiced insights into the lived tradition of enlightened humanity. Dr. Washington (Mwata) introduces us to the subject and points us in the right direction, the question of capacity to engage remains to be answered by each of us reading the treatise."
Linda James Myers, Ph.D., Professor Emerita, Department of African American and African Studies, The Ohio State University
"Many barriers for people of Afrikan descent hinder the utilization of healthcare services. Factors such as income, health insurance, and attitudes may hinder patients from seeking or obtaining care, while other barriers stem from access problems or bias among health care providers. Whereas mental illness stigma creates barriers to care needs to be understood by everyone, the lack of understanding the unique mental health experiences and needs of people of Afrikan descent is among the greatest shortcomings of Western trained mental health professionals. Mental disorders, substance abuse, and chronic yet preventable physical ailments, all of which Dr. Mwata calls Ukufa KwaBantu, place extreme burdens on individuals, families, and society. Ubuntu Psychotherapy offers us some hope of addressing many of these challenges for Black and brown people. Dr. Kevin Washington (Mwata), thank you for your dedication and research to Ubuntu. It is a blessing for all of us to have access to your vast knowledge and wisdom."
Dr. Dia Pfleger, Vice President of Black Mental Health Matters
"This game-changing volume confirms that Dr. Kevin Washington (Mwata) has his finger on the pulse of Afrikan cultural worldview and its inextricable ties to healing and well-being in Afrikan descendant communities around the world. The book centers on the necessity of psycho-spiritual alignment to heal from the trials and tribulations of racial oppression. Compelling guidance provided here will allow readers to chart a course of Afrikan-centered wellness in the context of Afrikan-centered connection to self and others."
Annelle B. Primm, M.D., M.P.H., Council of Elders, Black Psychiatrists of America
"This book serves as a sacred guide, offering invaluable insights into healing methods explicitly tailored for individuals of Afrikan/Black descent, addressing the enduring psychological impact of traumas like the transatlantic slave trade (Maafa). Through Ubuntu Psychology/Psychotherapy, Mwata Kairi Emeka Sankara provides a comprehensive framework blending spirituality and humanism, emphasizing cultural sensitivity and honoring Black people's unique experiences. At its core, Ubuntu Psychology/Psychotherapy offers a holistic approach to healing, guiding individuals through a journey of Remembering, Reminding, Reframing, Revitalizing, and Re-normalizing while honoring their Afrikan essence. Simply put, this is a must-read for educators and all mental health practitioners committed to supporting the psychological well-being of Afrikan Americans and the wider Afrikan Diaspora."
Alecia Blackwood, Ed.D., Assistant Professor of Education, Longwood University
"Dr. Washington's Ubuntu Psychotherapy is a gift to Afrikan communities as well as the field of psychotherapy. It marries psychotherapy to the underlying spiritual issues in play while simultaneously critiquing and criticizing long-held 'western' practices that can do more harm than good with Afrikan clients. Every pastor should read this text to deepen their understanding of the psycho-emotional and spiritual obstacles that diasporic Afrikans confront in their day to day lives."
Reverend Dr. Mark Ogunwalé Lomax
"I cannot think of a better healer than Mwata Kairi (Dr. Kevin Washington) to address the need for a psychotherapy that speaks to the Afrikan spirit and its global experience. Centuries of wisdom and healing traditions would do well to complement and correct our ailing Western paradigm, and this volume offers an inspiring and practical path to do so. Understanding that we are inseparable from our culture and community, at the same time as confronting the psycho-spiritual wounds that are unique to Afrikan history, Ubuntu psychotherapy can serve as a model for deep and humane healing for all humankind."
Bandy X. Lee, M.D., M.Div., Social Psychiatrist, Former Fellow of the National Institute of Mental Health (East African Specialist), and Creator of Local Depression Scale for Tanzania
"Kevin Washington’s (Mwata Kairi Sankara) Ubuntu Psychotherapy: The Dynamics of Treating Transgenerational Trauma for People of Afrikan/Black Descent is a groundbreaking and paradigm shifting book. Washington’s approach to the study of the Sakhu (illumination of the spirit) through the lens of the concept of Ubuntu is novel and nuanced. It is representative of the next stage of Afrikan-centered psychological praxis. In reconfiguring the fragmented pieces of the dismembered African self, this exploration into the spiritual foundation of the Afrikan and Afrikan diasporic psyche provides practitioners with culturally relevant guidelines that are essential for healing a people."
DeReef F. Jamison, Ph.D., Teaching Professor of African American Studies, Florida State University
Linda James Myers, Ph.D., Professor Emerita, Department of African American and African Studies, The Ohio State University
"Many barriers for people of Afrikan descent hinder the utilization of healthcare services. Factors such as income, health insurance, and attitudes may hinder patients from seeking or obtaining care, while other barriers stem from access problems or bias among health care providers. Whereas mental illness stigma creates barriers to care needs to be understood by everyone, the lack of understanding the unique mental health experiences and needs of people of Afrikan descent is among the greatest shortcomings of Western trained mental health professionals. Mental disorders, substance abuse, and chronic yet preventable physical ailments, all of which Dr. Mwata calls Ukufa KwaBantu, place extreme burdens on individuals, families, and society. Ubuntu Psychotherapy offers us some hope of addressing many of these challenges for Black and brown people. Dr. Kevin Washington (Mwata), thank you for your dedication and research to Ubuntu. It is a blessing for all of us to have access to your vast knowledge and wisdom."
Dr. Dia Pfleger, Vice President of Black Mental Health Matters
"This game-changing volume confirms that Dr. Kevin Washington (Mwata) has his finger on the pulse of Afrikan cultural worldview and its inextricable ties to healing and well-being in Afrikan descendant communities around the world. The book centers on the necessity of psycho-spiritual alignment to heal from the trials and tribulations of racial oppression. Compelling guidance provided here will allow readers to chart a course of Afrikan-centered wellness in the context of Afrikan-centered connection to self and others."
Annelle B. Primm, M.D., M.P.H., Council of Elders, Black Psychiatrists of America
"This book serves as a sacred guide, offering invaluable insights into healing methods explicitly tailored for individuals of Afrikan/Black descent, addressing the enduring psychological impact of traumas like the transatlantic slave trade (Maafa). Through Ubuntu Psychology/Psychotherapy, Mwata Kairi Emeka Sankara provides a comprehensive framework blending spirituality and humanism, emphasizing cultural sensitivity and honoring Black people's unique experiences. At its core, Ubuntu Psychology/Psychotherapy offers a holistic approach to healing, guiding individuals through a journey of Remembering, Reminding, Reframing, Revitalizing, and Re-normalizing while honoring their Afrikan essence. Simply put, this is a must-read for educators and all mental health practitioners committed to supporting the psychological well-being of Afrikan Americans and the wider Afrikan Diaspora."
Alecia Blackwood, Ed.D., Assistant Professor of Education, Longwood University
"Dr. Washington's Ubuntu Psychotherapy is a gift to Afrikan communities as well as the field of psychotherapy. It marries psychotherapy to the underlying spiritual issues in play while simultaneously critiquing and criticizing long-held 'western' practices that can do more harm than good with Afrikan clients. Every pastor should read this text to deepen their understanding of the psycho-emotional and spiritual obstacles that diasporic Afrikans confront in their day to day lives."
Reverend Dr. Mark Ogunwalé Lomax
"I cannot think of a better healer than Mwata Kairi (Dr. Kevin Washington) to address the need for a psychotherapy that speaks to the Afrikan spirit and its global experience. Centuries of wisdom and healing traditions would do well to complement and correct our ailing Western paradigm, and this volume offers an inspiring and practical path to do so. Understanding that we are inseparable from our culture and community, at the same time as confronting the psycho-spiritual wounds that are unique to Afrikan history, Ubuntu psychotherapy can serve as a model for deep and humane healing for all humankind."
Bandy X. Lee, M.D., M.Div., Social Psychiatrist, Former Fellow of the National Institute of Mental Health (East African Specialist), and Creator of Local Depression Scale for Tanzania
"Kevin Washington’s (Mwata Kairi Sankara) Ubuntu Psychotherapy: The Dynamics of Treating Transgenerational Trauma for People of Afrikan/Black Descent is a groundbreaking and paradigm shifting book. Washington’s approach to the study of the Sakhu (illumination of the spirit) through the lens of the concept of Ubuntu is novel and nuanced. It is representative of the next stage of Afrikan-centered psychological praxis. In reconfiguring the fragmented pieces of the dismembered African self, this exploration into the spiritual foundation of the Afrikan and Afrikan diasporic psyche provides practitioners with culturally relevant guidelines that are essential for healing a people."
DeReef F. Jamison, Ph.D., Teaching Professor of African American Studies, Florida State University
