Toward Grounding Transnational Feminism in Borderland Spaces

Abstract

This article discusses our efforts to ground transnational feminist practice locally in borderland spaces and to detach this practice, to the extent possible, from the overall structure of Euro-centered knowledge in mental health. We recognize that transnational training and research in psychology has the potential to offer scholar-practitioners the opportunity to engage in transformative intercultural learning processes. However, these processes can become forms of colonization in which dominant knowledge systems originating in the United States are positioned to exert undue influence on vulnerable communities whose members sometimes unwittingly give consent to participate. We situate ourselves and discuss our conceptual framework. We present how we co-constructed a borderland learning space in a particular training program and analyze challenges we encountered in this process. We discuss our research collaboration, highlighting our efforts to ground aspects of the research process also in a borderland space. Finally, we offer recommendations for transnational feminist training and research.

Keywords:

• Borderlands
• collaboration
• Colombia
• deconolonization
• research
• transnational feminism

Disclosure statement

We have no known conflicts of interest to disclose.

The authors thank Jane Ariel, Ph.D., for her helpful feedback and revision to this manuscript.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Pilar Hernandez-Wolfe

Pilar Hernandez-Wolfe, Ph.D. was born and raised in Colombia. She was involved in community psychology prior to migrating to the HYPERLINK “http://u.s.to/” U.S.to pursue her masters and doctoral degrees. Her professional and political involvement in working with human rights and women’s issues shaped her life-long interests in traumatic stress and resilience. As a result, from her migration experience, Pilar began exploring her Indigenous ancestry, intergenerational trauma and the larger social issues involved in colonization and decolonization. She is Professor at the Lewis and Clark College Graduate School of Counseling and Education, guest faculty at the Universidad Javeriana, Cali in Colombia, and AAMFT approved supervisor. She pioneered the concept of vicarious resilience in the context of torture survivor treatment in the U.S. and mental health services addressing politically based violence. She is the author “A Borderlands’ view of Latinos, Latin Americans and Decolonization. Rethinking Mental Health,” and, coautor of “La resiliencia vicaria en las relaciones de ayuda” with,Victoria Acevedo. She received the Distinguished Contribution to Social Justice Award from the American Family Therapy Academy in 2013.

Victoria Eugenia Acevedo

Victoria Eugenia Acevedo, Psy.D. was born and raised in Colombia. She was involved in community service and prevention of violence, especially with underserved populations of children and women, prior to migrating to the U.S. to pursue her masters and doctoral degrees. She returned to her homeland, where she has worked as a clinical psychologist, family therapist for the past 25 years. Her professional experiences and personal commitment of working with underserved populations, shaped her interests in human development, recovery from trauma and family/community resilience. In addition, from her academic transnational work and female friendships across the world, Vicky has expanded her ways of making meaning of resilience across contexts and the larger social issues in which care is embedded. She has published several articles and coauthor three books addressing isssues of resilience. She is Professor at the Universidad Javeriana, Cali in Colombia, and has served as a magistrate (magistrada) of an ethics committee, for the Colombian psychological association (Colegio Colombiano de Psicologos), from which she received a distinguished contribution Award in 2019.