Frequently Asked Questions
Why Coloring Psychoanalysis?
The “Coloring” in the title of this publication has two meanings. The first is in the sense of “People of Color,” as we actively claim the right of BIPOC people to have a psychoanalysis that witnesses our realities and serves our wellbeing. The second alludes to literal color, symbolizing the enlivening made possible by centering diverse, marginalized perspectives that are too often erased in traditional psychoanalysis.
2. What kinds of content do you publish?
We publish content that draws from psychoanalytic/psychodynamic ideas and explicitly recognizes and seeks to dismantle the ways in which psychoanalytic theory has both ignored and pathologized BIPOC communities, justified and reinforced systemic oppression, and affects our practice and our communities today. We also publish content that highlights practices of resilience, joy, peace, wisdom, connection, and healing that have always been part of our and our ancestors' stories.
We hold the term “psychoanalytic” (and the related “psychodynamic”) broadly to include myriad ways of working with individual and collective unconsciousness within the context of human relating. We believe that active dialogue and scrutiny around boundaries is essential to our mission and aligned with the spirit of the founding of this field. These ideas include those by early theorists such as Sigmund and Anna Freud, Carl Jung, John Winnicott, Melanie Klein, Sándor Ferenczi, etc. to more modern theorists like Jacques Lacan, Thomas Ogden, Frantz Fanon, Heinz Kohut, etc., and even more contemporary connections to the relational, intersubjective, sociocultural, and geopolitical (such as those by David Eng & Shinhee Han, Neil Altman, Salman Akhtar, Pratyusha Tummala-Narra, Daniel Gaztembide, and others).
Our content may explore experiences of clinical work, supervision, the classroom, or personal narratives. It may take the form of writing, some of which may fit into a more traditionally academic approach, but contributors may also choose a host of other ways of writing about psychoanalysis, such as personal essays, co-authored pieces, reviews of works, screen/stage-writing, poetry, fiction, and works that incorporate multinational/multilingual perspectives, among others. Others may choose to express their ideas via other media, such as music or song, performance, visual art, or recorded interviews or conversations.
In particular, we encourage works that center lived experiences, indigenous ways of knowing and healing, and/or the intersection of psychoanalysis and other areas of human inquiry.
3. Why should I publish my content with Coloring Psychoanalysis?
We think there are some great reasons to publish with Coloring Psychoanalysis, including:
having your content reach a BIPOC audience who are specifically interested in anti-racist, decolonial approaches to psychoanalysis;
developing your voice within a community of BIPOC colleagues who share similar values and goals;
creating content in a space that seeks to reduce the harmful impacts of the White, colonial gaze;
freedom to incorporate more personal, experimental, collaborative, and interdisciplinary approaches as compared to traditional psychoanalytic and academic spaces;
contributing to the development of a body of expertise that centers the knowledge, experience, and wellbeing of BIPOC people.
4. I’m interested but…
…I’m not sure I have expertise to contribute; or
…I’ve been told I’m not good at expressing myself
As BIPOC people (particularly those who are Black and Brown), we too often have explicit and implicit encounters within educational systems that crystallize into narratives that we don’t have something valuable or “expert” to say, or that we can’t express ourselves in the right ways. If similar concerns make you hesitate about your ability to contribute to Coloring Psychoanalysis, we encourage you to ask yourself: what voices shaped this narrative for you, and what were their influences and motivations? We encourage you to consider that given how un- and under-documented BIPOC stories are in psychoanalysis, your experiences as a BIPOC clinician, student, teacher, and person may already be on the cutting edge of what is known, and therefore valuable to give voice to. The act of documentation can also complement orally transmitted knowledge, cross-pollinate across diverse communities, and reclaim and elevate wisdom traditions that are non-Western/White.
We also encourage you to leverage support of this community, including our monthly creative support group (see Submission for more information), online support, and our readings/resources list, to develop your ideas and keep you motivated.
5. This all sounds great! And…
How can I help?
If you want to support our work and community, you can do so in a number of ways:
Let us know you’re interested by filling out this form.
Contribute your original content.
Spread the word!
Give your time and talent: Coloring Psychoanalysis currently runs on volunteer power! We’re looking for individuals to help in all aspects of our brand new venture. If you’re interested, contact us at coloring.psychoanalysis@gmail.com.
Donate: We aim to provide access to our periodical to the BIPOC community without barriers, therefore there is no fee to subscribe. However, we need your help to continue providing BIPOC-centered psychoanalytic content and sustainably grow our community offerings. For each issue, we suggest a donation of $40; please feel free to offer more or less based on your resources. Please note that your donations are not tax-deductible at this time.
Where can I find more?
This publication is inspired by the work of many who have forged the way before us. Their courage and brilliance have pushed the boundaries of what is possible in this field. We want to acknowledge our debt of gratitude and highlight their work as resources for our community; click below for a reference list of works by BIPOC psychoanalytic scholars that specifically address issues of race, intersectional oppression, colonialism, and white supremacy:
In the spirit of honoring collective wisdom, this list is available as a crowdsourced spreadsheet that you can also add to. Please take care when making changes. If you have comments or questions, or see an error that should be corrected, contact coloring.psychoanalysis@gmail.com. These works have also been published publicly so we encourage you to share it widely, including with non-BIPOC.