What is it about?
Australian psychology has historically marginalised and silenced Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, cultures, knowledges, and lived experiences. This insightful article describes how an Indigenous-led initiative is decolonising psychology education and practice in Australia. The Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project (AIPEP) is described in detail with examples of how the initiate is creative cultural and structural change in Australian psychology through Indigenous relationality and leadership.
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Why is it important?
Through cultural and structural change, AIPEP is changing the narrative and relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the psychology discipline in Australia. AIPEP seeks to increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation in the discipline of psychology via 1) increasing Indigenous content embedded in psychology higher education programs, 2) increasing the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander psychology students and graduates, and 3) increasing the cultural safety of psychologists working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Perspectives
Working alongside Australian psychology regulators and the Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association, AIPEP is changing the landscape of the psychology discipline in Australia better meet the needs, rights and lived experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Our vision is clear - psychology in Australia must reflect the lived experiences and realities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We hope our passion and commitment to Indigenous justice reflected in this article sparks innovation and allyship within psychology and other disciplines in Australia and across the globe.
Belle Selkirk
University of Western Australia
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Decolonizing psychology education in Australia through the Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project., American Psychologist, November 2025, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/amp0001490.
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Resources
Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project
This is the official website of the Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project (AIPEP).
AIPEP Curriculum Framework
Dudgeon, P., Darlaston-Jones, D., Phillips, G., Newnham, K., Brideson, T., Cranney, J., Hammond, S., Harris, J., Herbert, J., Homewood, J., & Page, S. (2016). Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project Curriculum Framework. Perth, WA: University of Western Australia.
AIPEP Guidelines for Increasing the Recruitment, Retention and Graduation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Psychology Students.
Dudgeon, P., Darlaston-Jones, D., Phillips, G., Newnham, K., Brideson, T., Cranney, J., Hammond, S., Harris, J., Herbert, J., Homewood, J., & Page, S. (2016). Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project Guidelines for Increasing the Recruitment, Retention and Graduation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Psychology Students. Perth, WA: University of Western Australia.
AIPEP Workforce Capabilities Framework.
Dudgeon, P., Harris, J., Newnham, K., Brideson, T., Cranney, J., Darlaston-Jones, D., Hammond, S., Herbert, J., Homewood, J., Page, S. & Phillips, G. (2016). Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project Workforce Capabilities Framework. Perth, WA: University of Western Australia.
Psychology: From Inquiry to Understanding (4th edition)
This psychology textbook has been edited and co-authored the by the Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project. Alongside a unique stand-alone chapter on Indigenous Psychology, the book features Indigenous knowledges, content and perspectives throughout each chapter of psychology - making it an Australian-first psychology textbook. Lilienfeld, S., Lynn, S. J., Namy, L. A., & Dudgeon, P. (Eds.) (2025). Psychology: From Inquiry to Understanding (4th edition). Pearson.
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