Contemporary debates in critical psychology: Dialectics and syntheses

Although critical psychology has been gaining momentum in recent years, it is by no means a monolithic entity. In order to understand the variety of strands within critical psychology, we conducted a formative evaluation of the field. The intention of the study was to provide critical psychologists with an opportunity to reflect on the development of the subdiscipline. We were interested in determining the state of critical psychology as a growing field, and providing some direction for the future. The research involved the participation of 25 self-identified critical psychologists from 10 different countries. The findings of this qualitative inquiry point to three dialectics in the areas of action (theory/practice), method (denunciation/annunciation), and context (inside/outside). The findings also point to future directions for critical psychology at the micro, meso, and macro levels of interventions.