Answering the Call for Systems Change

There is much agreement within counseling psychology on the importance of social justice, yet social justice education and training remain limited in counseling psychology programs (Beerman et al., 2012; Pieterse et al., 2009; Singh et al., 2010). Critical components to social justice education and...

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Main Authors: Melanie Wilcox, Katharine Shaffer, Laura Reid Marks, Ashley Hutchison, Candice Hargons
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Ball State University Libraries 2023-02-01
Series:Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://openjournals.bsu.edu/jsacp/article/view/3284
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author Melanie Wilcox
Katharine Shaffer
Laura Reid Marks
Ashley Hutchison
Candice Hargons
author_facet Melanie Wilcox
Katharine Shaffer
Laura Reid Marks
Ashley Hutchison
Candice Hargons
author_sort Melanie Wilcox
collection DOAJ
description There is much agreement within counseling psychology on the importance of social justice, yet social justice education and training remain limited in counseling psychology programs (Beerman et al., 2012; Pieterse et al., 2009; Singh et al., 2010). Critical components to social justice education and training include an emphasis on systems theories that could inform interventions (i.e. advocacy and activism) at the exosystem and mesosystem levels as well as learning about the breadth of activism and advocacy skills. Assessment, diagnosis, and conceptualization are considered core functional competencies in professional psychology (Fouad, 2009), yet these processes are often only taught at the individual level. If the goal of advocacy and activism are to foster systems change, considered a functional competency in counseling psychology (CCPTP, 2012), then it is crucial to provide systems-level theories and skills in counseling psychology education and training. We describe how we have attended to the provision of systems-level education and training in our respective programs. We will provide recommendations about the inclusion of systems-level theories, classroom formats, assignments, and mentorship designed to foster trainees’ development of a systems-level theoretical orientation, as well as skills to engage in social justice research, leadership, and both micro- and macro-level advocacy interventions.
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spelling doaj-art-c28ece27bead483db035b99f241e3dd92025-08-20T03:16:21ZengBall State University LibrariesJournal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology2159-81422023-02-0114210.33043/JSACP.14.2.2-24Answering the Call for Systems ChangeMelanie Wilcox0Katharine Shaffer1Laura Reid Marks2Ashley Hutchison3Candice Hargons4Augusta UniversityUniversity of BaltimoreFlorida State UniversityBall State UniversityUniversity of Kentucky There is much agreement within counseling psychology on the importance of social justice, yet social justice education and training remain limited in counseling psychology programs (Beerman et al., 2012; Pieterse et al., 2009; Singh et al., 2010). Critical components to social justice education and training include an emphasis on systems theories that could inform interventions (i.e. advocacy and activism) at the exosystem and mesosystem levels as well as learning about the breadth of activism and advocacy skills. Assessment, diagnosis, and conceptualization are considered core functional competencies in professional psychology (Fouad, 2009), yet these processes are often only taught at the individual level. If the goal of advocacy and activism are to foster systems change, considered a functional competency in counseling psychology (CCPTP, 2012), then it is crucial to provide systems-level theories and skills in counseling psychology education and training. We describe how we have attended to the provision of systems-level education and training in our respective programs. We will provide recommendations about the inclusion of systems-level theories, classroom formats, assignments, and mentorship designed to foster trainees’ development of a systems-level theoretical orientation, as well as skills to engage in social justice research, leadership, and both micro- and macro-level advocacy interventions. https://openjournals.bsu.edu/jsacp/article/view/3284social justice; social action; education; trainingadvocacysystems theoretical orientation
spellingShingle Melanie Wilcox
Katharine Shaffer
Laura Reid Marks
Ashley Hutchison
Candice Hargons
Answering the Call for Systems Change
Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology
social justice; social action; education; training
advocacy
systems
theoretical orientation
title Answering the Call for Systems Change
title_full Answering the Call for Systems Change
title_fullStr Answering the Call for Systems Change
title_full_unstemmed Answering the Call for Systems Change
title_short Answering the Call for Systems Change
title_sort answering the call for systems change
topic social justice; social action; education; training
advocacy
systems
theoretical orientation
url https://openjournals.bsu.edu/jsacp/article/view/3284
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