About Liberation and Psychology: An Introduction

The psychology of liberation, as the readers will find out in the first chapter of this\ud book, has its roots in a paradigmatic change that started in the second half of the\ud twentieth century, in Latin American social sciences. One could say that the idea of\ud liberation arose from a fresh and renovating spirit that reflected the times as change\ud traversing across the continent. And as also can be read in the chapters included in\ud this book, there are certain characteristics that have marked those initial moments.\ud During the 25 years between the sixties and the mid-eighties, when the creation of\ud a psychology of liberation was proposed by its pioneer, Ignacio Martín-Baró, the\ud disciplines of sociology, anthropology, pedagogy, philosophy, and theology, were\ud introducing and discussing certain conceptions and ideas linked to social and political\ud movements while denouncing oppression, exclusion, exploitation