Epistemological oppression and racism-Failure to see the forest from the trees: Reply to Mckay and Koppelman-White (2025) and Strambler (2025)

The critiques of Sue et al. (see record 2025-04512-010) by McKay and Koppelman-White (see record 2026-59464-001) and Strambler (see record 2026-59464-002) are examples of being trapped by a White Western epistemology/ontology that prevents them from "seeing the forest from the trees." They cling to an unenlightened view of Enlightenment values, attribute racism in counseling and psychotherapy to reside primarily in individual therapists and not in systems of power and privilege, fail to consider the legitimacy of indigenous worldviews, and unknowingly engage in epistemological oppression. We argue that epistemological and definitional power oppresses, denigrates, and harms people of color. We assert that decolonizing psychology will result in liberation not only for people of color but also for the mental health professions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).