PhD in Psychology; MA in Clinical Psychology (cum laude); MA in Conflict Transformation and Management.

Psychology Today page here.

Psychoanalysis & Community Psychology

Psychoanalysis

I have advanced training in psychoanalysis and I am a member of the Lacanian School of Psychoanalysis (LSP) in the Bay Area.

After several years working internationally in the medical humanitarian sector, I established a private practice in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2015, where I worked as a clinical and community psychologist accompanying people from diverse backgrounds. Although, I remain licensed as a clnical psychologist in South Africa. Now based in Berkeley, California, I continue this work as a Registered Psychological Associate (PSB 94029152) under the supervision of Dr. Fernando Castrillón, Psy.D. (PSY 24815).

I review for the European Journal of Psychoanalysis (EJP), and also teach and write about psychoanalysis.

Community Psychology

Alongside clinical work, my professional activities include providing expert testimony on social and environmental issues, especially how social injustices shape psychological distress.

From working for Doctors Without Borders in Southern Africa, Somaliland, Turkey, and Lebanon, accompanying survivors of violence and displacement. To South Africa’s public healthcare system, where I worked in inpatient and community mental healthcare. These experiences have shaped my commitment to creating spaces where every person’s unique experience is heard, valued, and dignified.

Contributions to environmental and climate justice include serving as an expert witness in South Africa’s landmark #CancelCoal case. I have also documented the psychological impacts of extractive industries around Sacred Natural Sites in the Vhembe District, the opening of coal mines near ancestral lands, and the struggles of communities defending their cultural and ecological knowledge. This work is reflected in reports such as Everything for Dust and Land or Life, which examine the human, cultural, and psychological costs of extractivism.

In terms of governance, I have served as president of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Southern Africa, board member of MSF’s Operational Center in Brussels, co-founded the Psychology Society of South Africa’s Climate Division and have been an advisor on APA’s Climate Change Task Force.

I teach annually on the Advanced Training Certificate in Ecopsychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara.

This website offers an overview of some of these ongoing projects and published works.

You can email me directly at garretbarnwell@proton.me or leave a short voicemail to (341) 230-1740; I usually respond within 24 hours.