Critical Therapy | Silvia M. Dutchevici in conversation with Vileti ‘Akolo

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About the Book

Not all revolutions begin in the street. Sometimes, they start in the psychotherapy office, on the couch.

Psychotherapy needs a revolution. Historically, its goal has been to accommodate individuals to oppressive social systems. In this revealing and timely book, practicing psychotherapist, Silvia Dutchevici, provides a long-overdue social-justice model for therapy aiming toward liberation and personal agency. In Critical Therapy: Power and Liberation in Psychotherapy, patients and therapists are invited to look closely at ways power works in relationships. Drawing on liberation psychology scholarship and a decade of practice, Dutchevici examines how the therapeutic relationship itself is shaped by issues-such as money, race, class, and gender-often considered taboo.

In offering more than comfort and insight, critical therapy supports patients as they awaken their own transformative power; create collaborative relationships, workspaces, and environments; and come to see themselves as agents of change in a still unfinished democracy.

Written in simple and concise language, Critical Therapy is a must-read for anyone who has had, is thinking of having, or is practicing psychotherapy.

About the Author

Silvia M. Dutchevici, MA, LCSW, is president and founder of the Critical Therapy Institute. A trained psychotherapist, Dutchevici (pronounced “doot-KAY-vitch”), created critical therapy on perceiving a need for the theory and practice of psychology to reflect how race, class, gender, and religion intersect with psychological conflicts. She is a founding board member of Black Women’s Blueprint and a member of the Physicians for Human Right’s Asylum Network, where she conducts psychological evaluations documenting evidence of torture and persecution for survivors fleeing danger in their home countries. She trained at the Bellevue/NYU Survivors of Torture Program, the Parent Child Center of the New York Psychoanalytic Society, and the New York Freudian Society. Dutchevici has a master’s degree in social work from New York University and a master’s degree in psychology from the New School, and a bachelor’s degree in religious studies and political science from Fordham University. She has lectured and presented throughout the country on critical therapy, including at Fordham and NYU, and has been featured in the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Psychology Today, The Guardian, International Business Times, and Women’s Health.

About our Conversation Partner

Vileti ‘Akolo (she/they) LMSW is a first-generation Tongan trauma-informed clinician, circle practitioner, consultant and facilitator. Based in NYC (licensed in NY), Vileti is skilled at integrating psychotherapy with social and transformative justice praxis. She dedicates her personal and professional work to upending oppressive systems and centering the lives of Black, Indigenous, people of color relegated to living on society’s margins. Vileti is deeply committed to creating and holding intentional space and expanding capacities for profound, collective healing.

The bedrock of Vileti’s overall approach to clinical and communal work is informed by Critical Race and Black Feminist theories and embodied through an anti-oppressive, intersectional lens. For over a decade, she has developed curriculum, training and provided workshop facilitation for a multitude of clients and organizations on topics including social-racial-transformative justice pedagogy, youth development, professional development, trauma-informed care, mental health awareness, community care & community healing. Vileti’s consultant work is holistic and rooted in collaborative and liberatory praxis where ultimately, the hope is deeper awareness and radical change. Vileti prioritizes research and attending training on cutting edge topics in order to stay abreast of the latest innovative approaches to healing.