African American Psychology
CSUDH
March 1, 2013
1. IN THE THOMAS PARHAM ARTICLE, DESCRIBE AFRICAN PSYCHOLOGY’S INFLUENCE ON AFRICAN AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGY.
African Psychology can be traced to Ancient Egypt known as Kemet. The people of ancient Egypt studied the human psyche or soul and the higher mental processes as a holistic environment. From their perspective, they believed that there was a continuity and harmony between nature and God. They had three levels components of being which were mental, physical, and spiritual. It was based on religion. They can be further broken down into seven important elements which we see in present day African-American Psychology. The mental and Physical levels were needed to satisfy the spiritual component. God is the spirit and nature is physical
African Psychology is interconnected to the spirit. The spirit realm plays a key role in the development of character traits and personality and guides the ways of life. The African Psychological perspective focuses on seven key elements that enveloped together throughout life. KA is describe as the sum of all dimensions and the enshrinement of all the elements of Kemetic Roots and in essence is the human body. It has been documented that African’s believe that your spiritual energy force directs your actions in your life. In addition to that documentation Parham states that the human body provides a form for the force of life’s energy, which is spirit, to manifest. African’s focus on self- healing and encourage individuals to look into their inner spirits for answers to life’s most perplexing questions. Through self- healing they also lean on the interconnectivity of the spirit and the actual physical body. Self-healing is an important act and encouraged throughout the culture.
Africans recognize that the healing process is a natural process and must be guided by natural alignment with the seven dimensions of the psyche. Each dimension