The Marrow of Radical Queerness w/ Robert Downes

When white queerness can't always be trusted to keep in line with collective liberation, where do you turn? In this episode, Dr. Jennifer Mullen sits down with psychotherapist and writer Robert Downes for a powerful conversation about resistance, Black feminist thought, and the work of decolonizing therapy and the psyche. Together they explore rage, care, ancestry, and what it means to live and act with integrity in a world shaped by colonialism and racial capitalism. This episode invites listeners to transform grief and discomfort into deeper connection, truth-telling, and collective action.Robert Downes is a psychotherapist, supervisor, teacher, and writer whose work explores the intersections of psychotherapy, decolonial thought, and psychosocial practice. Drawing from a range of critical traditions, Robert’s work challenges dominant therapeutic frameworks while centering relational, cultural, and political dimensions of healing. Rooted in his Irish ancestral lineage and informed by Black feminist scholarship and abolitionist practice, Robert’s work examines how colonialism, racial capitalism, and social power shape psychic and relational life. His approach to therapy and teaching often centers what he calls “disruptive therapeutics,” a practice that interrogates institutional norms while creating space for truth-telling, care, and collective liberation. Connect with Robert - https://bodypsychotherapyinlondon.com/ Want to read the books suggested in this episode? Get them at the Decolonizing Therapy bookshop - https://bookshop.org/lists/from-root-to-bone-read-along