Implementing Social Change: A Qualitative Analysis of Counseling Psychologists’ Engagement in Advocacy

Abstract

In recent years, many counseling psychology training programs in the United States have adopted social justice principles into training. Although previous studies have provided thought-provoking discussions on social justice advocacy, they mostly reflected the voices of psychologists in academia; therefore, the advocacy work of practitioners has been neglected. In order to explore the advocacy experiences of counseling psychologists in practice, we utilized qualitative content analysis to analyze semistructured interviews with 11 practitioners who were trained in social justice-oriented counseling psychology doctoral programs. The findings were clustered under three domains: (a) participants' development of a social justice orientation, (b) different ways of implementing advocacy in practice, and (c) positioning advocacy in psychology. The interviews depicted resources and challenges with regard to integrating advocacy into practice indicating that counseling psychologists continue to struggle with systemic barriers that limit their advocacy actions. We discuss implications for research, practice, and training in counseling psychology.

Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competency Research: Opportunities for Innovation

“…With respect to social justice counseling competency, counselors who trained particularly within diverse settings and communities perceived that those experiences were positively aligned with the counseling profession’s values (Hoover & Morrow, 2016) and prepared them to enact positive system‐wide change within their communities (Collins et al, 2015; Crook et al, 2015; Luu & Inman, 2018; Ramirez Stege et al, 2017; Singh et al, 2010). Furthermore, Kozan and Blustein (2018) reported that practitioners who graduated from a socially just–oriented program gained several advocacy behaviors, such as recognizing impacts of systemic factors on mental health, integrating social justice perspectives into case conceptualization and the therapeutic alliance, adopting nontraditional roles to help clients navigate multiple systems, advocating for culturally responsible practices and policies in their organizations, and addressing power dynamics and contextual issues within the profession. With these benefits, trainees and practitioners noted some difficulty moving from microlevel (i.e., awareness‐building) to macrolevel (i.e., systems collaboration) interventions (Ramirez Stege et al, 2017), which may have resulted from navigating personal needs and social justice goals as well as encountering backlash from peers for their social advocacy efforts (Malott, Schaefle, Paone, Cates, & Haizlip, 2019).…”

“…Limitations of previous scholarship include (a) how social justice counseling and social justice counseling competencies are operationalized by practitioners and clients (Ramirez Stege et al, 2017; Schriberg & Clinton, 2016); (b) how social justice competency develops as an aspect of multicultural competency (Crook et al, 2015; Hays, 2008; Presseau et al, 2018); (c) what social justice counseling efforts are enacted by counselors (Malott et al, 2019); and (d) at what levels of intervention, and to what degree, counselors and clients experience social injustice or barriers to social justice work and the impact of those experiences on counseling process and outcome (Crook et al, 2015; Kozan & Blustein, 2018). Hays and Dahl (in press) suggested indicators of MSJCC research effectiveness at the six intervention levels (see Ratts et al, 2016).…”

“…Additional research is needed to capture intermediate gains in multicultural counseling competency and social justice competency throughout master’s‐ and doctoral‐level training in terms of classroom instruction, out‐of‐classroom immersion experiences, and field placement and supervision. In addition, counselors need to reach consensus and clarification on how advocacy in practice should be taught in training programs (Kozan & Blustein, 2018). Furthermore, there is a lack of research on what strategies change problematic counselor characteristics and behaviors (e.g., racial microaggressions; Benuto et al, 2017; Hook et al, 2016; Kozan & Blustein, 2018).…”

“…In addition, counselors need to reach consensus and clarification on how advocacy in practice should be taught in training programs (Kozan & Blustein, 2018). Furthermore, there is a lack of research on what strategies change problematic counselor characteristics and behaviors (e.g., racial microaggressions; Benuto et al, 2017; Hook et al, 2016; Kozan & Blustein, 2018). Finally, research is needed on how training is perceived, internalized, and translated into social action over the short and long term (Presseau et al, 2018).…”

“…Hays and Dahl (in press) define multicultural and social justice research as a purposeful approach to using culturally appropriate research designs, addressing intersections of power within the counseling relationship, and using research as a means of advocacy. Advocacy, ranging from client empowerment to actions with and on behalf of clients, is intended to decrease societal barriers that create inequitable mental health and public health service delivery and thus result in poorer client outcomes (Chapman & Schwartz, 2012; Kozan & Blustein, 2018; Lewis, Arnold, House, & Toporek, 2003; Ramirez Stege et al, 2017; Shin, Smith, Welch, & Ezeofor, 2016). Advocacy through research can also illuminate individual and community assets and resources in order to rescript, as appropriate, dominant views of mental health and treatment approaches (Lazarus, Bulbulia, Taliep, & Naidoo, 2015).…”