Jeong and Han: The Clinical Implications of Postcolonial Theology on Suffering and Oppression

Abstract

The new wave of Asian/Asian American postcolonial, feminist scholarship provides a route to engage in critical dialogue, raising awareness that essentialist notions of race, class, ethnicity, gender, and religion fail to account for the complex and dynamic social reality individuals with bicultural/hybrid identity face. Because American psychology in general and integration of theology and psychology in particular has traditionally taken a detached stance toward the culture of the “other,” for this article Joh’s (2006) seminal work, Heart of the Cross: A Postcolonial Christology, was selected to amplify a much-needed perspective and cultural sensibility. Grounded in feminist theology, the Korean concept of jeong, a complex, multidimensional meaning of relationality, is used to dismantle the divide between self and other, love and hate, oppressed and oppressor; in this way, the traditional atonement theory and the cross is reconceptualized so that Christ fully embodies radical, inclusive love that offers a new vision of wholeness and life for those suffering from individual and collective oppression. As theology holds potential for the integration necessary in therapy for healing and restoration, this article offers a resource for clinicians interested in expanding the language and horizon of integration—not just with Korean clients, but more broadly beyond white, normative borders.