Decolonizing Mental Health in the Polycrisis: Pathways Toward Neuro-Decolonization

The authors argue that the root causes and drivers of the polycrisis lie within the modern/colonial system. Drawing on the work of Yellow Bird and collaborations with Indigenous communities in Brazil and Peru, they examine how neurocolonization—the systemic imprinting of separability, superiority, and subjugation onto ways of thinking, perceiving, relating, feeling, and being—has contributed to the polycrisis. They suggest that neuro-decolonization entails a dual process: those socialized into separability unlearn harmful patterns and reconnect with their relational interdependence and responsibility toward all beings, while those socialized into entanglement reclaim and revitalize practices that have been suppressed and pathologized. The authors offer possible starting points for psychology to address its role in neurocolonization and support neuro-decolonization in an era of polycrisis.