Decolonizing mental health in the polycrisis: Pathways toward neuro-decolonization

The convergence of ecological, social, economic, and psychological crises into a "polycrisis" endangers the well-being of all life on Earth. This article argues that the root causes and drivers of these interconnected crises lie within the modern/colonial system, particularly its imposed illusion of separation between humanity and the rest of nature. Drawing on the work of Yellow Bird and our collaborations with Indigenous communities in Brazil and Peru, we examine how neurocolonization-the systemic imprinting of separability, superiority, and subjugation onto ways of thinking, perceiving, relating, feeling, and being-has contributed to the polycrisis. By comparing two mental health paradigms, one based on separability and the other on entanglement, we suggest that neuro-decolonization would entail a dual process by which those socialized into separability unlearn harmful patterns and unnumb to their relational interdependence and responsibility toward all beings, while those socialized into entanglement reclaim and revitalize practices that have been suppressed and pathologized. We also offer possible starting points for the field of psychology to address its role in neurocolonization and support neuro-decolonization in an era of polycrisis. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).