The mental health challenges of members of the African diaspora have been a worldwide occurrence for centuries, initially beginning with the transatlantic slave trade. Africans were scattered abroad to different countries and subjected to the severe psychological impact of enslavement. Despite the considerable financial systemic pressure of profit in the slave trade, it caused significant harm to the enslaved Africans and their descendants by erasing Africa's memory and their healing traditions from the hearts and minds of the population. Severe mental health symptoms can arise from oppression and the impact of the African diaspora. This dispersion has left many African Americans with a lack of cultural identity, depression, substance use, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (Monteiro & Wall, 2011). African descendants from many backgrounds have few cultural-related treatments. This paper explored the mental health consequences that have resulted from the impact of the African diaspora. It reviewed and discussed the literature on Afrocentric Kawaida principles and African dance rituals related to the process of healing and its applicability to people of color. It provided examples of African healing dance practices as a therapeutic aspect of the historical roots in north Africa. The author proposed the potential utility of using Afrocentric dance interventions with an African philosophy-centered framework and examined the concepts that are culturally relevant to aid people of color subjected to oppression from the African diaspora.
","abstract_html":"<p>The mental health challenges of members of the African diaspora have been a worldwide occurrence for centuries, initially beginning with the transatlantic slave trade. Africans were scattered abroad to different countries and subjected to the severe psychological impact of enslavement. Despite the considerable financial systemic pressure of profit in the slave trade, it caused significant harm to the enslaved Africans and their descendants by erasing Africa's memory and their healing traditions from the hearts and minds of the population. Severe mental health symptoms can arise from oppression and the impact of the African diaspora. This dispersion has left many African Americans with a lack of cultural identity, depression, substance use, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (Monteiro & Wall, 2011). African descendants from many backgrounds have few cultural-related treatments. This paper explored the mental health consequences that have resulted from the impact of the African diaspora. It reviewed and discussed the literature on Afrocentric Kawaida principles and African dance rituals related to the process of healing and its applicability to people of color. It provided examples of African healing dance practices as a therapeutic aspect of the historical roots in north Africa. The author proposed the potential utility of using Afrocentric dance interventions with an African philosophy-centered framework and examined the concepts that are culturally relevant to aid people of color subjected to oppression from the African diaspora.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Jones, Brittnea"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Psy.D. Doctor of Clinical Psychology","degree_level":"Dissertation - Public Access","degree_discipline":"Clinical Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Gary Howell","Dr. Patricia Dixon"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-06-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2022-06-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:28Z","subjects":["African Diaspora","Sankofa Cultural Therapy","African Americans","Culturally Adapted Treatment","Nguzo Saba","African Dance rituals","Afrocentric therapy","Clinical Psychology","Development Studies","Multicultural Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/670","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Gary Howell","Dr. Patricia Dixon"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Jones, Brittnea"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2022-06-23T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Clinical Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation - Public Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Psy.D. Doctor of Clinical Psychology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["African Diaspora","Sankofa Cultural Therapy","African Americans","Culturally Adapted Treatment","Nguzo Saba","African Dance rituals","Afrocentric therapy","Clinical Psychology","Development Studies","Multicultural Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/670"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The mental health challenges of members of the African diaspora have been a worldwide occurrence for centuries, initially beginning with the transatlantic slave trade. Africans were scattered abroad to different countries and subjected to the severe psychological impact of enslavement. Despite the considerable financial systemic pressure of profit in the slave trade, it caused significant harm to the enslaved Africans and their descendants by erasing Africa's memory and their healing traditions from the hearts and minds of the population. Severe mental health symptoms can arise from oppression and the impact of the African diaspora. This dispersion has left many African Americans with a lack of cultural identity, depression, substance use, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (Monteiro & Wall, 2011). African descendants from many backgrounds have few cultural-related treatments. This paper explored the mental health consequences that have resulted from the impact of the African diaspora. It reviewed and discussed the literature on Afrocentric Kawaida principles and African dance rituals related to the process of healing and its applicability to people of color. It provided examples of African healing dance practices as a therapeutic aspect of the historical roots in north Africa. The author proposed the potential utility of using Afrocentric dance interventions with an African philosophy-centered framework and examined the concepts that are culturally relevant to aid people of color subjected to oppression from the African diaspora.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Uniting African Philosophy with Traditional African Dance Rituals to Help Heal Mental Health Symptoms from the Impact of the African Diaspora"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Gary Howell","Dr. Patricia Dixon"],"dc:creator":["Jones, Brittnea"],"dc:date.available":["2022-06-23T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The mental health challenges of members of the African diaspora have been a worldwide occurrence for centuries, initially beginning with the transatlantic slave trade. Africans were scattered abroad to different countries and subjected to the severe psychological impact of enslavement. Despite the considerable financial systemic pressure of profit in the slave trade, it caused significant harm to the enslaved Africans and their descendants by erasing Africa's memory and their healing traditions from the hearts and minds of the population. Severe mental health symptoms can arise from oppression and the impact of the African diaspora. This dispersion has left many African Americans with a lack of cultural identity, depression, substance use, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (Monteiro & Wall, 2011). African descendants from many backgrounds have few cultural-related treatments. This paper explored the mental health consequences that have resulted from the impact of the African diaspora. It reviewed and discussed the literature on Afrocentric Kawaida principles and African dance rituals related to the process of healing and its applicability to people of color. It provided examples of African healing dance practices as a therapeutic aspect of the historical roots in north Africa. The author proposed the potential utility of using Afrocentric dance interventions with an African philosophy-centered framework and examined the concepts that are culturally relevant to aid people of color subjected to oppression from the African diaspora.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/670"],"dc:subject":["African Diaspora","Sankofa Cultural Therapy","African Americans","Culturally Adapted Treatment","Nguzo Saba","African Dance rituals","Afrocentric therapy","Clinical Psychology","Development Studies","Multicultural Psychology"],"dc:title":["Uniting African Philosophy with Traditional African Dance Rituals to Help Heal Mental Health Symptoms from the Impact of the African Diaspora"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Clinical Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation - Public Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Psy.D. Doctor of Clinical Psychology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:28Z"}