Social justice outcomes and professional counseling: An 11‐year content analysis

Abstract

Articles that assessed the outcomes of interventions based on multicultural‐social justice principles, and that were published in a journal sponsored by the American Counseling Association or its divisions, Chi Sigma Iota, or the National Board for Certified Counselors, were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. A total of N = 35 empirical studies were identified for inclusion. The year published, methodology, population studied, sample size, operationalized constructs, and whether the study espoused a systemic or community focus were coded. Principal findings indicated a slight increase in multicultural‐social justice outcome research over time, a need for more rigorous multicultural‐social justice outcome research, and a need for scholars and practitioners to enhance their systemic and community‐based conceptualizations of their clients’ presenting concerns. Other implications for counseling, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

Policy effects of the expansion of telehealth under 1135 waivers on intentions to seek counseling services: Difference‐in‐difference (DiD) analysis

“…Practicing counselors are trained to be multiculturalism and social justice advocates, therefore having the onus to bridge the service gap and address racial inequalities in mental health care (Clark et al., 2022). In light of ACA's ongoing efforts to address health disparities and racism, counselors and ACA may continue to help disseminate stigma reduction messages and rally to support racial/ethnic minorities by advocating for non‐discrimination (ACA, 2022).…”

“Listen louder”: Counselor trainee understanding of diversity in diagnosis

“…Participants wondered about the “real world” application of how diversity influenced diagnosis and considered critical contexts like systemic oppression, professional identity, and insurance standards, aligning with rooting counselor education in real‐world application and experiential learning (Arthur & Achenbach, 2002; ACES, 2016). Participants shared frustration for the slow movement of social justice within the counseling field, like calls for more counseling outcome research on multiculturalism and social justice (Clark et al., 2022).…”

Mechanisms of Change in School Counseling Intervention Studies: A Content Analysis

“…Another limitation is that relying on abstracts may not always capture all the specific aspects of an article to meet our inclusion criteria in the initial screening process, when manually reviewing all titles and abstracts ( N = 9687) within the timeframe (Clark et al, 2022). A third limitation of this study pertained to the inclusion criteria, which specifically focused on controlled trials.…”