Presentation Title: Working with Internalized Oppression to Facilitate Liberation
Presenter: Matthias Beier, PhD LMHC LP NCPsyA
Description: This presentation examines how fear drives both sides in oppressive dynamics, members of the majority and minority cultures. Using the case of Christian Nationalism, attention will be given to fear-based internalized oppression of religious and sociopolitical narratives that use internalized aggression, identification with the aggressor, omnipotent control, and projective identification. Integrating the work of Ignacio Martín-Baró in liberation psychology, it shows how this fear-driven aggression circulates inward and outward in the reproduction of domination and how therapy can interrupt these cycles, illustrated by a clinical case.
Learning Objectives:
1. Identify how fear sustains oppression in majority and minority groups.
2. Describe mechanisms of internalized oppression (e.g., internalized aggression, identification with the aggressor, omnipotent control, and projective identification).
3. Apply liberation psychology’s framework to clinical interventions that promote agency.
Resources:
Alleyne, A. (2005). Invisible injuries and silent witnesses: The shadow of racial oppression in workplace contexts. Psychodynamic Practice, 11(3), 283–299. https://doi.org/10.1080/14753630500232222
Beier, M. (2015). Assessing Faith: Toxic vs. Beneficent Belief. In Transforming wisdom: Pastoral psychotherapy in theological perspective (pp. 97–115). Cascade Books.
Klein, M. (1946). Notes on some schizoid mechanisms. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 27, 99–110. Martín-Baró, I., Aron, A., & Corne, S. (1994). Writings for a liberation psychology / Ignacio Martín-Baró ; edited by Adrianne Aron and Shawn Corne. Harvard University Press.
Boedy, M. N. (2025). The seven mountains mandate : exposing the dangerous plan to Christianize America and destroy democracy / Matthew Boedy (First edition). Westminster John Knox Press.
Presenter Bio: Matthias Beier, MDiv, PhD, LMHC, LP, NCPsyA, is Associate Professor of Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Pastoral Theology at Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, Indiana. A nationally certified psychoanalyst, licensed mental health counselor, and Past President of the Indiana Society for Psychoanalytic Thought, Beier received his psychoanalytic training at the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis (NPAP), one of the oldest and largest psychoanalytic institutes in the country. He specializes in countertransference-focused psychoanalytic supervision and consultation for individuals and groups. Beier is the author of three books - A Violent God-Image, Gott ohne Angst, and Eugen Drewermann: Die Biografie - and numerous journal articles and book chapters.
