Black Psychology

Black psychology, also called African-American psychology or African/Black psychology, is a field examining how people of African descent know and experience the world. It emerged, particularly in the United States, out of the inadequacy of traditional Westernized psychology to account for the psychology of Black people, combining perspectives from Black studies and traditional psychology into its own understanding of its subject. Existing as both an academic and an applied discipline, Black psychology aims to advance the well-being of people of African descent through accurate knowledge of that population, and while different scholars within the field take different definitional approaches, the field as a whole has worked to develop Afrocentric research, psychotherapy and well-being models, to identify inaccuracies in existing psychological frameworks, to advance understandings specific to Black and African-American people, and to advocate for greater equity and the appreciation of Black excellence.