Advanced Training Certificate in Radical Ecopsychology

This program is intended for those who have completed the Certificate in Ecopsychology and want to go further down the path of Radical Ecopsychology. It is an opportunity to work the leading edge of Radical Ecopsychology with two of its leading voices, Andy Fisher and Phoenix Smith, each bringing their unique viewpoint to the conversation.

Ecopsychology’s subject matter is the human-nature relationship. The history of this relationship, however, is one of oppression and dispossession in highly divided societies. To be true to itself, ecopsychology must therefore turn toward the multiple injustices that are inseparable from the modern alienation from nature. This turn makes ecopsychology an inherently radical project. In such spirit, the invitation of this program is a) to work together on mapping out a more mature version of ecopsychology that includes a justice focus, and b) to imagine and lean into the new forms of ecopolitical practice this mapping calls for. The overall goal is to build our confidence in Radical Ecopsychology as a politics of life and in ourselves as political animals.

Because this Certificate is designed for a wide range of participants, it neither requires nor confers a license or degree.

The program is organized around Radical Ecopsychology material presented by Andy (6 sessions) and Liberation Ecotherapy material presented by Phoenix (2 sessions). Phoenix and Andy will furthermore both attend all Live sessions, creating a space for rich dialogue about how this material comes together, and for participants to engage in the conversation from their own unique locations. The aim is to make a supportive environment for all to explore the work of developing ecopsychology in challenging new directions.

Each week you will learn from:

• A 60-minute pre-recorded Video presentation by either Andy or Phoenix
• A list of required and optional/additional Readings/Videos/Resources
• Online Discussion with the other participants and Andy/Phoenix, based on the responses you post each week to that week’s assignment; and
• A 90-minute Live session with Andy and Phoenix.

Live sessions will be recorded for those who cannot attend a given week.

Individual Session Descriptions

Week 1. Radical Ecopsychology: A Long Time Coming. Ever since it began in the mid-1990s, numerous voices have been calling for the development of a more radical version of ecopsychology—one less centered in the privileged or whitestream subjectivities of Western psychology. Given the conservative nature of dominant psychology, however, ecopsychology has been slow to develop into a radical project. In our opening session, we will review this bumpy history, while also setting the stage for a promising exploration of how ecopsychology can now take its radical legs as a genuinely ecological field of thought and practice. (Andy)

Week 2. Deepening Into Other Possible Worlds. A defining characteristic of ecopsychology is that it “turns the psyche inside out.” This makes the psyche a worldly phenomenon, made from all the interrelationships among human and more-than-human others. In this sense, the unit of psychology becomes not the individual human mind but “worlds” or structured interrelational wholes. If the modern capitalist world progressively undermines the conditions necessary for planetary life, making it a “death-world,” then our work as ecopsychologists is to deepen politically into other possible worlds—what we could call “relational-worlds.” This is our topic for Week 2. (Andy)

Week 3. Liberation Ecotherapy a Healing Justice Framework: No one needs an Ecotherapist, but everyone needs Ecotherapy. How can we apply Radical Ecopsychology in our communities that are liberatory, accessible, and decolonial?  Liberation Ecotherapy™ is a healing framework that aspires to merge social and ecological healing and justice. Rooted in the intersections of African Diasporic ecospiritual religion, liberation psychology and theology, healing justice, public health, ecological and social justice, and black feminist praxis, Liberation Ecotherapy provides a framework to help ground Radical Ecopsychological projects in justice, equity and cultural humility.  In this session we will explore the roots of Liberation Ecotherapy and how through the Alliance for Ecotherapy & Social Justice we have practiced it in communities in the United States. (Phoenix)

Week 4. An Ecopsychological Map for Justice. Radical ecopsychology places the demand for justice at its core, seeing this as inextricable from the goal of a mutual flourishing of human and more-than human life. But how exactly is the subject matter of ecopsychology linked to all the intersecting injustices—both “social” and “ecological”—that we can name? And what kind of ideas and collective practice does such a linking suggest? In this Week-4 session, Andy offers a map to help answer these questions. (Andy)

Week 5. Planetary Politics: Ecopsychology and the Question of Class. This week’s topic springs from Andy’s experience of politicizing ecopsychology by introducing it into a labor union environment. How does class struggle figure in ecopsychology? How can ecopsychology join or help build the planetary-scale politics that a global class analysis shows us is necessary? In short, can we develop a specifically-ecopsychological form of politics through an alliance with the labor movement? (Andy)

Week 6: The Human-Ecological Condition. One of the things that makes a politically-expressed ecopsychology unique is the psychological know-how it brings to the political arena. To include a focus on justice in ecopsychology is not to abandon the soul-centered or spiritual practice that has characterized the field. Indeed, how can we further develop and integrate such practice, with its deep understanding of the human-ecological condition, into contemporary politics? In Week 6, we will explore this task, including the idea that creating ecopsychologically skillful “holding environments” may be crucial to the future viability of planetary politics. (Andy)

Week 7: African Diasporic Eco-Spirituality. This session introduces the connections between African Diasporic eco-spiritual traditions and social justice, focusing on the Yoruba earth-based religions practiced throughout the African Diaspora. Found in regions such as Cuba, Brazil, Trinidad, and the United States, these traditions survived the transatlantic slave trade and continue to thrive as vibrant systems of ecological and ancestral connection. Key themes include: the integration of nature and spirituality, ecofeminist dimensions, community and lineage, and resilience and justice. (Phoenix)

Week 8: Ecopsychology as a Politics of Life. The final session wraps the program up with a focus on what needs to happen for ecopsychology to develop itself further as a radical project, plus the role it might play in a wider politics of life for our times. Participants also get an opportunity to try out their own ideas in this respect or to engage around projects they may already have underway. (Andy)

 

Learning Objectives

This program is designed to help you:

1. Explain why and how Radical Ecopsychology differentiates itself from more mainstream and less critical versions of ecopsychology.
2. Use the concept of “world” to differentiate between the “death-world” of capitalist modernity and the “relational-worlds” that Radical Ecopsychology stands for.
3. Discuss why and how Liberation Ecotherapy is a project of Radical Ecopsychology.
4. Describe the centrality of injustice (oppression, dispossession) in the history of the human-nature relationship and in our contemporary ecopsychological situation.
5. Discuss the link between ecopsychology and class politics.
6. Discuss why ecopsychology’s focus on “the human-ecological condition” gives it a potentially crucial role in the development of planetary politics.
7. Discuss how African-Diasporic ecospirituality connects to the ecological self, community resiliency, and interdependence.
8. Explain how ecopsychology could be considered a politics of life.

 

Career Competencies:

1. Critical Ecopsychological Thinking:
   The ability to critically analyze and apply Radical Ecopsychology principles, distinguishing them from mainstream ecopsychology. This includes understanding the historical and socio-political dimensions of the human-nature relationship and integrating justice-focused frameworks into ecological practices.
2. Liberation and Justice-Centered Ecotherapy Practice:
   Proficiency in applying Liberation Ecotherapy as a healing justice framework. This competency involves merging ecological healing practices with social justice and cultural humility, particularly within diverse and decolonial community contexts.
3. Ecopolitical Leadership and Advocacy:
   The capacity to engage in and advocate for ecopsychological and ecopolitical practices that address planetary and social justice issues. This includes developing a critical understanding of the intersections between ecological health, social justice, class politics, and community resilience, while fostering collaborative, transformative action.

 

SCHEDULE FOR LIVE ONLINE LEARNING SESSIONS

Week 1: Zoom Session – Friday, March 7, 9 AM – 10:30 AM PT

Week 2: Zoom Session – Friday, March 14, 9 AM – 10:30 AM PT

Week 3: Zoom Session – Friday, March 21, 9 AM – 10:30 AM PT

Week 4: Zoom Session – Friday, March 28, 9 AM – 10:30 AM PT

Week 5: Zoom Session – Friday, April 4, 9 AM – 10:30 AM PT

Week 6: Zoom Session – Friday, April 11, 9 AM – 10:30 AM PT

Week 7: Zoom Session – Friday, April 18, 9 AM – 10:30 AM PT

Week 8: Zoom Session – Friday, April 25, 9 AM – 10:30 AM PT

 

Week 1

Recommended Readings:

• Daniella Roze Des Ordons, “’Calling In’ Ecopsychology: The Case of Ecotherapy and Nature-Based Education,” Ecopsychology 16:2 (2024), 121-134.

Week 2

Recommended Readings:

• Melanie K. Yazzie et al.,  “Burning Down the Bordertown” https://thebaffler.com/latest/burning-down-the-bordertown-yazzie-estes-denetdale-correia
• Vanessa Andreotti, “Hospicing Modernity,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0ZkOFFmbIY
• “Excerpt: ‘Emergent Strategies’ – adrienne maree brown,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyN76oTt67M; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvwFBS4oW9M&list=PLvs-F6-WM8UTxyPB7SqRIMuY9v0VQrFeN

Week 3

Required Readings:

• Cara Page & Erica Woodland, Healing Justice Lineages: Dreaming at the Crossroads of Liberation, Collective Care, and Safety (North Atlantic Books, 2023). It can be purchased at thriftbooks . Ch 1:Decolonizing Therapy. Chapter on “Conjuring the Roots of Healing Justice in the Southeast”, p. 119 – 132. Chapter on “Sites of Practice Timeline 2000-2021”, p. 146-149. Chapter on “Movements and Political Frameworks”p. 138-145. Chapter on “Why We Organize Practitioners” p. 220 – 229.
• Tema Okun “White Supremacy Culture – Still Here” May, 2021. For a more extensive exploration of this article, go to http://www.whitesupremacyculture.info/

• Helena Hansen, Kevin J. Gutierrez & Saudi Garcia, “Rethinking Psychiatry: Solutions for a Sociogenic Crisis” p. 75 – 91
• Justice & Ecology Project Movement Generation “The Meaning of Home” (1pg pdf)
• Silva AC, Antunes J, et al. Domestic violence: the impact of a nature-based holistic development program on victims’ well-being. Ecopsychology. 2018;10(3):158-172

Recommended Reading:

• Woodward, Luke, B. “ Ecopsychology and race: an exploratory study” (2012)Masters Thesis, Smith College, Northampton, MA. https://scholarworks.smith.edu/theses/887 

Week 4

 Recommended Readings:

• Sylvia Federici, “The Devaluation of Women’s Labour,” in Eco-Sufficiency and Global Justice: Women Write Political Ecology, ed. Ariel Salleh (London: Pluto Press, 2009), 43-65.
• “Angela Davis: We can’t eradicate racism without eradicating racial capitalism” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhh3CMkngkY

 Week 5

 Recommended Readings:

• Nora Räthzel and David Uzzell, “The Future of Work Defines the Future of Humanity and All Living Species.” https://soc21.nl/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Raethzel-ILO_Journal.pdf
• Stefania Barca, “Labour in the Age of Climate Change” https://jacobin.com/2016/03/climate-labor-just-transition-green-jobs/

Week 6

 Recommended Readings:

• Michael Leunig, “Introduction” to The Prayer Tree (North Blackburn, Victoria: Collins Dove, 1991).
• Rev. angel Kyodo williams, “Introduction: Enter Here; Radical Challenge,” in Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation (Berkeley, Cal.: North Atlantic Books, 2016), xix-xxx.
• Winona LaDuke, “Minobimaatisiiwin: The Good Life.” https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/minobimaatisiiwin-good-life

Week 7

Required Readings:

• Cara Page & Erica Woodland, Healing Justice Lineages: Dreaming at the Crossroads of Liberation, Collective Care, and Safety (North Atlantic Books, 2023). It can be purchased at thriftbooks. Chapter on Land as Kin: p 187 – 197. & Pg 237, Chapter on Return to Spirit, p. 237.
• Access Nature – YouTube Stream episode Cultural Humility with Phoenix Smith by Indigenous Vision https://soundcloud.com/indigenousvision/cultural-humility-with-phoenix-smith
• Liberation Ecotherapy™ Healing Circle of The Alliance for Ecotherapy and Social Justice
• 2023 Liberation Ecotherapy Cohort
• Part 4: Ecotherapy for Everyone: Healing with Nature for Peace & Justice (Sept. 29, 2020) – YouTube (ORICHA, SACRED FOREST & THE DIVINE)
• Part 2: Ecotherapy for Everyone: Healing with Nature for Peace & Justice (Sept. 23, 2020) (ACTA NON VERBA; EXAMPLE OF LIBERATION ECOTHERAPY)
• 06 16 Insight Garden Program Ecotherapy & Social Justice
• The First Water Is the Body – Natalie Diaz https://emergencemagazine.org/poem/the-first-water-is-the-body/
• DC is ranked as having the top park system in the US. That’s a problem. – Rachel Clark https://ggwash.org/view/amp/89793
• Low cost mental health intervention in Africa: Grandmothers Counseling on Park Benches https://www.fic.nih.gov/News/GlobalHealthMatters/march-april-2018/Pages/low-cost-mental-health-innovation.aspx
• podcast  episode Cultural Humility with Phoenix Smith on podcast hosted by Indigenous Vision https://soundcloud.com/indigenousvision/cultural-humility-with-phoenix-smith

Week 8

Recommended Readings:

• Ignacio Martín-Baró, “Toward a Liberation Psychology” and “The Role of the Psychologist,” Chapters 1 & 2 in Writings for a Liberation Psychology, ed. Adrianne Aron and Shawn Corne (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1994), 17-46.