Reconciling psychology's past and present: Commentary on Chavez-Dueñas et al. (2025)

Chavez-Dueñas et al. (2025) provide an insightful critique of psychology's colonial legacy and call for an urgent decolonization of psychological ethics, theory, and practice. Although we agree with the ethical imperative to dismantle oppressive structures and practices within the discipline, the present commentary offers a complementary perspective that highlights the substantial progress psychology has made over the past several decades. We argue that many of the concerns raised by Chavez-Dueñas et al. have been, and continue to be, addressed through theoretical innovation, institutional reform, and the development of subfields grounded in decolonial and antioppressive frameworks. Examples include the establishment of liberation psychology, multicultural and Indigenous psychologies, and feminist therapies, along with organizational shifts such as the American Psychological Association's public apologies for historical harm, ongoing ethical code revisions, and integration of culturally adapted evidence-based practices into therapy. Training programs now emphasize cultural humility and critical consciousness, and professional guidelines embed equity and plural epistemologies. Although significant work remains, psychology is not static; it is actively evolving in response to critiques from within and beyond the field. We argue that a balanced account-one that recognizes both past harm and ongoing progress-better supports the transformation that decolonial scholars and practitioners seek. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).