Ch. 2 - Diverstiy and Social Justice Issues in Counseling and Psychotherapy PDF

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CHAPTER 2 Diversity and Social Justice Issues in Counseling and Psychotherapy (p.35-60) 2.1 Introduction  Issues of diversity and social justice have been brought to the forefront of discussion  Challenges the limitations of limitations of traditional counseling theories and practices o Variety of models, theories, and concepts have been created to address the needs of diverse clients during the counseling process.  This chapter provides a context for diversity and social justice issues in counseling by o (a) clarifying key concepts and reviewing the history of diversity and social justice issues in counseling o (b) increasing understanding of how diversity and social justice issues influence individual and group functioning o (C) increasing awareness of how diversity and social justice may influence the counseling process o (d) presenting several perspectives on diversity and social justice-oriented interventions o (e) suggesting ways to develop self-awareness, knowledge of diverse populations, and counseling skills relevant to diversity and social justice. 2.2 DEFINITIONS  Multicultural = encompasses individual and cultural differences o Multicultural counseling not only incorporates racial and ethnic differences but includes other dimensions of diversity, such as – SES, ability/disability status, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, immigration status, age, religion, and spirituality.  Culture = “characteristic values, behaviors, products, and worldview of group of people with a distinct sociohistorical context.” o Can be observable readily in differences in clothes, foods, customs or traditions, and languages o Subtle in parenting beliefs, family structure, social hierarchy, gender-role expectations, communication style, and relationship to time and space.  Majority, dominant culture and agent = refer to groups and members of groups who are more numerous or hold more power.  Minority, nondominant culture, underrepresented, marginalized, and target = refer to groups and individuals who have fewer numbers and/or less power.  Diverse clients = used to indicate clients who differ significantly in experiences, culture, or social identity from the counselor and/or who identify predominantly with minority, nondominant cultural, underrepresented, or target groups.  It’s difficult to work with diverse clients without an understanding of social justice, oppression, and what it means to be a change agent.  “social justice counseling perspective” = at its core the goal of full and equal participation of all groups in society. o D.J. Goodman (2011) = social justice – process of seeking dignity, self-determination, and safety for all people by addressing issues of equity, power, and oppression. o Counselors working in this perspective seek to establish more equal power distribution of power and resources in society through macrolevel interventions (e.g. advocacy with and on behalf of a group) or microlevel (e.g. working with a client).  Premise of the social justice counseling perspective = belief that oppression is the root of many client problems; Hardiman and Jackson (1982): o Oppression = “simply not an ideology or set of beliefs that asserts one group’s superiority over another. Nor is it random acts of discrimination or harassment toward members of the subordinate group. It is a system of domination with many interlocking parts” (p.2).  “change agent” = someone who strives to move against the status quo when [he or she] feels that it is hurting those individuals whom [he or she] is trying to help. 2.3 CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS IN U.S. SOCIETY  The rationale behind increased attention to the impact of social and cultural differences on the counseling process IS the increasing diversity of the U.S. population

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Minority-majority crossover prediction by 2044 – more than ½ of Americans will identify as a member of a racial or ethnic minority group; identifying as 2/+ races will be rising, etc. o Older than 65 years – 20% of population o Identification with LGBT – 3.4-3.8% of households (or more) Diversity has the potential to strengthen society, but it may also contribute to misunderstanding, conflict, and oppression. IT has been asserted that when counseling does not acknowledge cultural issues and societal power dynamics, it many promote an unjust status quo. Criticisms linked to cultural bias in counseling practice. The cutlurually determined definitions of normal behavior, language, and other differences that impede counselor-client communication; minimizing or ignoring the impact of client group sociopolticaly history; and underutilizing client support sDiversity has the potential to strengthen society, but it may also contribute to misunderstanding, conflict, and oppression. IT has been asserted that when counseling does not acknowledge cultural issues and societal power dynamics, it many promote an unjust status quo. Criticisms linked to cultural bias in counseling practice. o The culturally determined definitions of normal behavior, language, and other differences that impede counselor-client communication; minimizing or ignoring the impact of client group sociopolitical history; and underutilizing client support stems and systematic interventions.

2.4 MULTICULTURAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE COUNSELING Multicultural Counseling  Multicultural counseling = counseling in which the counselor and the client are culturally different because of socialization acquired in distinct cultural, subcultural, racioethnic, or socioeconomic environments. o Sue and Sue (2013): helping process that relies on both universal and culture-specific techniques to meet goals that are consistent with client values; recognizes individual, group, and universal dimensions of client identity; and integrates client worldview into the assessment diagnosis, and treatment of clients and client system.  Assumption: counseling professionals should recognize the impact of cultural differences on client life experiences, client-counselor relationships, and the counseling process.  Origins: 1950’s – in response to the recognition that the U.S. had become increasingly diverse in terms of race, culture, and language. o racial segregation, systematic discrimination, and prejudice o people of color were underrepresented as counselors  1960’s = time of political and social unrest, and open challenge of the White establishment and racist institutions became commonplace o Mental health scholars and practitioners began to question the racist counseling practices that were prevalent in the field o Questioning has led to positive changes in the profession – increased numbers of publications and studies dedicated to issues of race and professional groups to raise awareness  End of 1960s = formation of the Association of Non-White Concerns (ANWC), which consisted mainly of African American members of the American Personnel and Guidance Association, the predecessor of the American Counseling Association (ACA).  1980s-1990s = multicultural issues became a priority in the counseling profession, with unprecedented numbers of publications devoted to the subject o Increasing credibility  Criticism o Emphasized cultural awareness within counseling sessions but has placed less emphasis on systematic social change strategies and social justice o Movement has emphasized issues of race and ethnicity over other social identity variables such as gender, sexual orientation, religion, class, and disability.  2015 Summer  AMCD and ACA both endorsed a more contemporary version of MCC (update!) The Evolution of Multicultural Counseling  1950s: The multicultural counseling movement originates amid a climate of social inequality in the United States  1960s: The questioning of racist counseling practices by practitioners leads to the formation of the ANWC  1970s: Official divisional status is granted to ANWC, and the division begins to widen its focus to

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Kiselica and Robinson (2001): social justice has been an integral part of the counseling profession since the early 1900s, when counseling pioneers Frank Parsons and Clifford Beers responded to the exploitation of immigrants to the U.S. Social justice concepts made few appearances in the counseling literature until 1970s o Articles published topics related to systematic barriers to client well-being o Psychological problems – (originally viewed as originating inside the client); now linked with factors outside the client. 1980s – call for the adoption of social justice counseling perspective o J.H. Katz (1985) argued counseling theories and practices emerge from limited cultural contexts and thus are NOT value neutral. o This promoted a White, middle-class status quo Key Events in 1990s that advanced the social justice counseling perspective o 1999 = Loretta Bradley was elected the ACA president  selected “Advocacy: A Voice for Our Clients and Communities” as a theme of her presidential address. o Same year  formation of Counselors for Social Justice, a division of the ACA – served to legitimize the social justice counseling perspective. Ratts and Pedersens’ (2014) book Counseling for Multiculturalism and Social Justice o Provided practical framework to help counselors balance individual counseling with social justice advocacy using the counselor-advocate-scholar model.

In Summary of Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling  Both share at their core assumptions = that counselors must consider clients’ social and cultural contexts during the counseling process, o that oppression significantly affects lives of many diverse clients, o and that counselors must go outside the boundaries of traditional counseling theory and technique to serve these clients.

2.5 COUNSELING WITH DIVERSE CLIENTS  Becoming a counselor who is competent in diversity and social justice means learning to view oneself, others, and the world in new ways.  Berger et al. (2014) found that mental health care providers who understand the communities, individuals, and cultural factors inhibiting or increasing well-being are more likely to provide culturally competent care, potentially increasing satisfaction and reducing the dropout rates of ethnic and cultural minority groups. >>Understanding Diverse Clients Through the Oppression Model (OM)  The Benefits through this kind of understanding -> o Allows counselors to see themselves, their clients, and the counseling relationship as part of societal systems o Envision external barriers to client well-being o Implement systemic interventions (such as advocacy)  Social Identity groups = collections of people who share physical, cultural, or social characteristics within one of the categories of social identity. o Common social identity groups  race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, class, disability, age, and religion. o According to OM, within each identity group category, specific identity groups are valued more highly and consequently have more power than other groups  Dominant/agent groups = social identity groups with more power. o In U.S. – Whites, heterosexuals, male, the able-bodied, the upper class, and young or middle-aged adults  Target groups = social identity groups that have less power o Include – people of color, LGBT people, females, people with disabilities, people who are undocumented immigrants, the working class or poor, and older adults or children.

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Cultural oppression (Young 2011) = “the universalization of a dominant group’s experience and culture, and its establishment as the norm” o Oppression begins with agent groups systematically devaluing the values, beliefs, and experiences of target groups. o Multileveled socialization process that occurs both overtly and covertly perpetuates this devaluation. o Basic dynamics can be understood through examining the roles of stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination, and privilege. Stereotypes = negative generalizations about social identity groups and group members. o Allow people to selectively attend to negative group attributes that may or ma not exist and form simplistic, negative views that dehumanize and deny the complexity of human identity o Many prejudices are based on stereotypes. Prejudices = judgments of social identity groups or group members made without adequate information or contact. o Serve individuals and groups by contrasting their group with another and then by justifying the unequal treatment of the other group. o Active form of prejudice  discrimination Discrimination = behavior by one social identity group that cause harm to members of other social identity groups; can take various forms o individual and institutional discrimination result from the actions of individuals and institutions that discrimination against target social identity groups and individuals o structural discrimination results from policies and practices that unintentionally discriminate against target social identity groups. Related to structural discrimination is privilege = unearned access to resources that is readily available to members of agent groups o They can function without understanding the needs of targe individuals and group members o Blind to their own privilege and to the experiences of target groups and group members. o Privilege is much more difficult to identity and eradiate than overt discrimination. Privilege allows for the creation of policies, laws, organizations, and institutions that are discriminatory because of its association with agents in decision-making positions. The oppression model gives counselors a basic framework for understanding large and small systems in which counselors and clients function, understanding large and small systems in which counselors and clients function, understanding agent and target client experiences, and understanding themselves as people who have also developed within these systems. Reminds practitioners to be vigilant for oppression, discrimination, and privilege and to assure that all dominant cultural systems encompass some oppressive aspects.

>>Understanding Diverse Clients Through Social Identity Development (SIDM)  Counselors have traditionally understood client identity through human theories such as Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory and Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory.  Social Identity development models have emerged to understand how social, political, and cultural contexts influence diverse client identity.  Sue and Sue (2013) = racial/cultural identity moles (a form of SID model) represent some of the most useful frameworks for better understanding and treating clients with diverse identities.  Identity (sense of self) is profoundly affected by the socially assigned designations of culture, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability/disability, and class, among others. o Begins with the individual characteristics and social identity group memberships with which a person is born. Continues to be influenced by = family, institutions, and cultural environments of communities, regions, and nations.  Ecological environment – Bronfenbrenner (1981), described these distinct settings as similar to Russian nesting dolls – with one layer inside of the other and the innermost layer containing the developing person. o Within each context, a social identity group membership is valued differently o Valuations may be internalized by the person – thereby affecting how people view and feel about themselves or others.  SID models emerged for the PURPOSE of simplifying the complexities of identity development.

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Individuals have varying degrees of awareness and acceptance of their social identifies Variability validates that members of a social identity group may share characteristics and experience but also may vary significantly in their identification with that group, which allows counselors to conceptualize diverse clients without stereotyping. The predominant social identity development models describe minority racial, ethnic, and cultural group members’ experiences as they develop within the dominant White culture. o These models share a progression of statuses from dominant culture acceptance to minority culture acceptance and, finally, to a complex state of minority culture acceptance that allows connection to and valuing of others culture, including the dominant culture. o o

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Sidebar 2.3: Atkinson, Morten, and Sue’s Racial/Cultural Identity Development Model 1. Conformity = Individuals show a preference for the dominant culture rather than their own culture. 2. Dissonance = Individuals are presented with new information that is in opposition to their previously held cultural beliefs and values. 3. Resistance and Immersion = Individuals become aware of racism and injustice and embrace their own culture while rejecting the beliefs and values of the dominant culture. 4. Introspection = Individuals reevaluate their beliefs and values about the dominant culture and begin to integrate these values into their minority cultural identity. 5. Integrative Awareness = Individuals are able to evaluate and identify both positive and negative aspects of the dominant culture and develop an appreciation of both cultures. 

Models have also been developed to describe the social identity development of dominant-group individuals (example = Helm’s White racial identity development model). o The assumption that healthy identity development for dominant-group members involves becoming aware of privilege and its effects on other groups forms the basis of this model. Sidebar 2.4. Helm’s White Racial Identity Development Model 1. Contact = Individuals are unaware of their own racial identity and often holds the belief that everyone is the same. 2. Disintegration = Individuals come into contact with people of color, which challenges their previously held belief. 3. Reintegration = Individuals attempt to resolve feelings of discomfort by retreating into the comfort of their own group. 4. Pseudoindependence = Individuals may intellectually acknowledge the existence of racism but may see it as a problem for people of color to resolve. 5. Immersion/Emersion = Individuals explore their own culture, understand what it means to be White, and more honestly evaluate racism and their role in it. 6. Autonomy = Individuals experience more positive feelings about their own culture, equally value other cultures, and adopt an antiracist identity.

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Other social identity group categories  o Cass’s (1979) model of gay, lesbian, and bisexual sexual identity formation. o Hardiman and Jackson (2007) described a generic model of social identity development that includes all target and agent groups within society.  This model moves from target and agent individuals having little or no consciousness of their group identity to acceptance, resistance, and redefinition, and finally to a stage called internalization. Complexity  each person has multiple social group memberships spanning many dimensions of diversity (Jones & McEwen, 2000). o Pope (1991) – suggested that ppl experience several stages of social identity development simultaneously and thereby live a blend of social identities that results in a complex experiencing of themselves and the world. o There can be disparate feelings about each aspect.

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o The notion that a person only identifies to one group  creates false binaries BENEFITS o Allows practitioners to better understand clients’ experiences, issues, and needs  e.g. African American clients in the conformity and immersion stages may have different levels of comfort with discussing issues of race and may express differing levels of comfort and trust with a ...