THE prevailing school of thought within psychology in the military has been to make the individual the problem, and to underplay the role of social injustice and institutionalised discrimination on the psychological well-being of African people.
How do we have these uncomfortable conversations in the workplace and start to decolonise our industry? Protesting students will soon graduate and enter the world of work and an economy that remains untransformed.
How will socially conscious and politically aware graduates function in such environments? From my experience, the system often wins, and slowly their fire burns out. This needs to change.
My journey into psychology began at North West University in 2001. A lot has changed since then, including the renewed spirit of activism that has permeated the higher education landscape.
As a psychology practitioner in the military, the bulk of the work that I do involves psychological research, training and development. I am fortunate to work in an environment that is largely multi-ethnic, multi-generational and multi-disciplinary.
For some time there have been subtle tensions between these various dimensions that underlie my workspace.
The tension has always been about the tried and tested ways of practising psychology and the young and recently qualified psychology practitioners.
These young “radical” professionals often question and challenge established norms and practices.
However, over time their fire burns out and the system succeeds in changing them instead of their changing the system.
There is a great deal of pressure to conform. It is my hope that the new products of a decolonised education system are better able to resist the pressure and continue to be attuned to the spirit of decolonisation even when they leave university.
On the other hand, it would be wrong to abdicate the responsibility of addressing issues of decolonisation of the workplace to the new graduates. We should also do our part.
Decolonising the workplace: psychology in an African context
With the growth of the decolonisation movement over time, tension will grow. I have witnessed first-hand the frustration and disillusionment that results when politically conscious graduates are pressured into conforming to workspaces that remain untransformed in terms of the understanding and practice of psychology in an African context.
The question we need to explore is whether we would like new entrants into the profession to bring a new perspective, to challenge, to question and even to be disruptive, in order to advance the profession.
Or do we want the new professionals to think as we do in order to validate our preconceptions and prejudices?
Military psychology: African spirituality and philosophy is a necessary conversation
The prevailing school of thought within psychology in the military has been to make the individual the problem and to underplay the role of social injustice and institutionalised discrimination on psychological well-being.
Furthermore, the role of African spirituality and philosophy has only received lip service.
The discussions about the influence of social injustice, discrimination, African spirituality and philosophy on psychological and cognitive functioning have been largely superficial and have not lead to any real change in the research and practice of psychology within the military.
As an African psychologist in the military I have been complicit in this practice. The idea here is not to criticise the actions of my colleagues but to start a conversation long overdue.
Most of our clients, research participants and job seekers are African and continue to be victims of social injustice and exclusion. Those we seek to serve also practise African spirituality in some form.
However, it seems to me we have approached our clients, research participants and selection candidates in a way that underplays their reality and have sought to impose our western-informed notions of wellness, illness, human potential and ability into an African social context we do not fully understand.
Psychology undermines African identity
When it comes to our clients, research participants and selection candidates, as a practitioner, I cannot separate myself from their experiences. In many cases we come from the same disenfranchised communities, aspire to the same things.
I realise how my environment, culture and my ancestors’ experiences influence my sense of self, my identity and spirituality. If I accept that there are fundamental similarities between me and those candidates and participants, and I can recognise the impact of culture, environment, injustice in my life, then I have to make room for the possibility that my experiences mirrors theirs.
If that is the case, how do I continue to practise a brand of psychology that fails to adequately affirm the spiritualties and the social injustices that underlie the African identities of the people I claim to serve?
And do we begin to practise psychology within the military in a way that does not reinforce injustices and prevailing patterns of privilege?
These are loaded and complicated issues, and I am sometimes tempted to cut and run in search of greener pastures.
But I am reminded that sometimes life’s greatest opportunities come disguised as its biggest challenges and maybe the places that make one most uncomfortable are the exactly the place where one should be.
What I am suggesting is that we must move these conversations away from the dark corners and move them to the forefront of psychology in the military.
I believe that this will enable us to be more responsive to the needs of the people we serve and put us in a position to make a real difference.
Furthermore, these conversations should begin to take place at all levels of industry with a view to decolonising the economy and to ensuring that the economy is structured in a way that benefits the masses and not just a privileged few.
● Maine is a research psychologist working in the military and conducts research on various issues within the military. He obtained his MA in Research Psychology from the North-West University and is currently doing a doctoral degree there. His interest is in the influence of African spirituality, social environment, injustice and discrimination. This article was first published in