Colonialism and the Psychology of Violence

Frantz Fanon, a psychiatrist and revolutionary thinker, deeply examined the psychological and social impacts of colonialism. In his groundbreaking works Black Skin, White Masks and The Wretched of the Earth, Fanon shows how colonial violence goes beyond physical domination. It infiltrates the mind and behaviors of the colonized, often leading to internalized oppression and conflict within colonized communities themselves.

Turning Against One Another

In The Wretched of the Earth, Fanon highlights how violence imposed by colonizers creates violence among the colonized:

“While the settler or policeman has the right the livelong day to strike the native, to insult him and make him crawl to them, you will see the native reaching for his knife at the slightest hostile or aggressive glance cast on him by another native; for the last resort of the native is to defend his personality vis-à-vis his brother.” (p. 54)

He continues:

“Tribal feuds only serve to perpetuate old grudges buried deep in the memory. By throwing himself with all his force into the vendetta, the native tries to persuade himself that colonialism does not exist.” (p. 54)

This shows how colonialism redirects resistance inward, producing what Fanon calls “collective auto-destruction”—aggression that colonized people inflict upon one another.

Still Relevant Today

Though Fanon wrote in 1961, during the Algerian war of independence, his insights remain strikingly relevant. From the favelas of Brazil to the ghettos of North America, colonized and oppressed communities still bear the scars of internalized violence. Fanon observed:

“The colonized man will first manifest this aggressiveness which has been deposited in his bones against his own people.”

This destructive cycle reinforces the colonizer’s narrative that the oppressed are not “reasonable human beings,” further justifying domination.

Decolonizing Therapy

Today, many speak of decolonizing therapy. Yet too often, psychotherapists continue to rely on the very tools of empire to frame the struggles of the people they aim to serve. As Audre Lorde famously warned:

“The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.”

To truly decolonize, healing practices must be centered on restoring humanity and dignity, rather than adapting people to systems that continue to oppress them.

Fanon’s Vision for Liberation Psychology

Fanon described colonialism as:

“A systematic negation of the other person—a firm determination to deny the other person all attributes of humanity.”

Building on this, Somali psychologist and Fanon scholar Hussein Abdilahi Bulhan emphasized Fanon’s radical approach:

“A psychology tailored to the needs of the oppressed would give primacy to the attainment of ‘collective liberty’ and, since such liberty is attained only by collectives, would emphasize how best to further the consciousness and organized action of the collective.”

In this vision, interdependence, cooperation, and collective struggle are at the heart of healing. Liberation psychology is not about adjusting to oppression, but about transforming institutions and reshaping society to affirm human dignity.

Conclusion: Healing Beyond the Wounds of Colonialism

Fanon challenges us to recognize that the wounds of colonialism are not just historical—they are living realities that shape our communities today. If therapy and healing practices are to be truly liberatory, they must move beyond individual adjustment and work toward collective transformation.

The question we are left with is this: What does decolonizing therapy look like in practice, and how can we begin to create spaces of healing that restore dignity, humanity, and collective freedom?

References

Bulhan, H. A. (1985). Frantz Fanon and the psychology of oppression. Springer.

Fanon, F. (1967). Black skin, white masks (C. L. Markmann, Trans.). Grove Press. (Original work published 1952)

Fanon, F. (1963). The wretched of the earth (C. Farrington, Trans.). Grove Press. (Original work published 1961)

Lorde, A. (1984). Sister outsider: Essays and speeches. Crossing Press.