Overview

In support of NABC’s commitment to provide a hub for Black clinicians to continuously enhance their skills, stay updated on therapeutic breakthroughs, and engage in ongoing professional development, Ushauri, the Division of African-Centered Counseling Sciences and Liberation Praxis, positions counseling as both a rigorous clinical science and a culturally rooted practice of personal and collective liberation.

The name Ushauri originates from Swahili, meaning counsel, advice, or guidance. This name embodies the Division’s purpose,to provide culturally rooted guidance that strengthens the counselor’s role as healer, advocate, and liberator within the African diaspora and beyond.

This Division centers the knowledge, values, and healing traditions of African and Black worldviews as the foundation for counselor training, supervision, research, and practice. It seeks to advance culturally grounded models of care that honor community, history, and liberation as essential components of mental health and wellness.

Guided by the Njia Framework, developed by Dr. Dennis Winkler,serves as the foundational philosophy and counseling theory giding the division. Ushauri provides a model for counselor development, identity work, and liberation-oriented healing. Njia emphasizes cosmology, community, and praxis as interconnected dimensions of human wellness, offering a holistic path for both individual and collective transformation. As the Division evolves, Ushauri will continue to welcome and integrate additional African-centered frameworks that complement and enrich Njia’s core principles ensuring the work remains dynamic, inclusive, and deeply reflective of the African world experience.

Through this work, Ushauri allows NABC to:

• Establish the national standard for African-centered counseling

• Develop culturally grounded certification and training pathways

• Support research and evidence development rooted in African and Black worldviews

• Build partnerships across the U.S. and the Pan-African world

Mission

To advance African-centered counseling sciences and liberation praxis through culturally grounded training, supervision, research, and community engagement that promote wellness, freedom, and dignity across the African diaspora.

Vision

A national and Pan-African network of counselors who practice with cultural rootedness, scientific rigor, and liberation-oriented purpose reshaping systems, outcomes, and narratives for Black people worldwide.

Foundational Model: The Njia Framework

The Njia Framework guides counselor development and identity formation through six interconnected domains:

1. Epistemology & Cosmology – Understanding African-centered knowledge systems, origin stories, and meaning-making.

2. Identity & Community Formation – Cultivating counselor identity through belonging, language, and cultural ethics.

3. Learning & Supervision – Grounding education and mentorship in culturally congruent methods.

4. Inquiry & Evidence – Conducting research aligned with African/Black worldviews and community realities.

5. Healing & Protection – Centering interventions that restore balance and safeguard against systemic harm.

6. Structures & Praxis – Translating healing principles into advocacy, policy, and institutional change.

Programs and Offerings

• Certification Pathways: Tiered learning from foundational to advanced scholar-practitioner levels.

• Supervision Institute: Culturally grounded supervision models and evaluator training.

• Curriculum & Courses: Modules on history, ethics, worldview, and community-based healing.

• Research & Evidence Development: Community-engaged studies and practice-based evidence.

• Partnerships & Field Sites: Collaborations with schools, clinics, and community organizations.

• Policy & Advocacy: Developing standards to align counseling practice and reimbursement with cultural reality.

Culturally Grounded Certification

Ushauri will establish national standards and credentials for African-centered counseling.
Credential levels include:

• Foundations Certificate – Core worldview, ethics, and assessment principles.

• Practitioner Certificate – Demonstrated cultural fidelity and effective client outcomes.

• Advanced Scholar-Practitioner – Leadership in research, supervision, and systems transformation.

Each level will require documented learning, supervised experience, and community-based evaluation.

Research and Evidence Development

Ushauri promotes research that builds the scientific foundation for African-centered counseling through:

• Practice-based evidence and community-driven inquiry

• Research mentorship and publication opportunities

• Annual priorities co-developed with practitioners

• Collaborative studies across the African diaspora

Partnerships

Ushauri will cultivate partnerships with:

• Universities and counselor education programs

• Community mental health organizations and clinics

• Pan-African and diaspora institutions

• Policy and advocacy groups supporting culturally competent care

These collaborations will help expand access to training, research opportunities, and culturally responsive service delivery.

Get Involved

Membership is open to students, clinicians, supervisors, faculty, and community partners committed to African-centered counseling and liberation praxis.

Opportunities include:

• Joining as a founding member or institutional partner

• Participating in certification and research working groups

• Proposing collaborative training or field sites