Running head: THIS I BELIEVE 1

This I Believe: Counseling for Social Justice

Lyndsey G. Hepworth
Seattle University

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This I Believe: Counseling for Social Justice
There are many things that I believe strongly in. I believe in family, friends, and that all
kinds of macaroni and cheese are delicious. These beliefs, however, are only benefitting me. In
the helping profession, I believe whole-heartedly in helping and benefitting others. I believe that
my future job as a school counselor will do both of these things. Throughout my paper I will go
into more detail, but at the core and how I will start this paper, is that I believe in counseling and
helping others. I will include a) information around my positionality and my cultural influences,
b) discuss my experience and what I learned in social justice class, c) include scholarly support
around my opinions, d) discuss some insights I have gained, and e) end with a conclusion.
Positionality and my Cultural Influences
We started our social justice class with Who I am and are ending with This I believe.
To me this flow of understanding and learning is logical; we must first understand who we are, to
fully understand what we believe. As a counselor, it is especially important for me to be aware
of my positionality and cultural influences before working with clients. I think knowing about
my worldview is important for two reasons, to understand that my clients will see me through
their worldview and more importantly, acknowledge how I view my clients.
Pamela Hays (2008) created the ADDRESSING model so counselors can identify their
own cultural influences and better understand where their perspective and worldview comes
from. This model is similar to the exercise we did on our first day in social justice class, but this
model includes ten cultural influences. The ten cultural influences include Age and generational
influences, Developmental disability, Disability acquired later in life, Religion and spiritual
orientation, Ethnic and racial identity, Socioeconomic status, Sexual orientation, Indigenous
heritage, National origin, and Gender (Hays, 2008). Next I categorized each of my influences by
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marking my privileged or dominant influences with a star and areas where I am not privileged
with nothing. I will not go into detail about my cultural influences, but overall I am half White,
halt Hispanic, middle class, in my twenties, and female. I feel that it is important to focus on the
importance behind knowing my positionality over listing all my cultural influences.
Upon completion of the ADDRESSING exercise and our class exercise, I realize that I
mainly identify as in the privileged group. My experiences in this category differ vastly from
others who consider themselves as privileged. Hays noted that each individual has their own
constellation and I would argue that although two people may have the same constellation, their
experiences are most likely completely different (Hays, 2008). It is important for me to be aware
of my experiences, my clients experiences, and when in counseling sessions to operate through
both of our worldviews. We have talked in class about never being able to be completely value
neutral, and I agree. To each session I will bring my values and beliefs, but it is my job to be
hyperaware of those and my worldview to benefit my client.
Experience in Social Justice Class
Looking back on my experience in this social justice class, what really stands out for me
are a few discussions and the book I read for our book report. We have discussed that learning
about social justice in eight weeks in not enough. To me, social justice learning is an on going
process; it will never end and there will always be more for me to learn. This class was the first
specific social justice class I have taken, but I have been introduced to the concept of counseling
for social justice in multiple classes.
The discussions that really resonated with me and fit my idea of counseling for social
justice were being value-neutral and the canary story. Amidst our readings and group work,
these discussions had a lasting impact, which is counter what I thought of during the course. I
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thought I was getting more out of our readings and smaller group work because I participated
more in those, but have come to realize that our entire class discussions have really stuck with
me. Looking back, I think I was really taking the time to reflect on other students contributions
and ideas surrounding social justice.
I have already talked about my stance on being value-neutral, but this concept is very
important to me, as I will be working with clients who have different views. It is important for
me to recognize my position and recognize how my values should play out in counseling
sessions. The most important thing is the well-being of my client. I also believe in having a
strong, warm, and trusting collaborative therapeutic alliance. My positionality and values should
not interfere with either and if so, I am being unethical and need to refer my clients elsewhere.
This is the last measure I would take, but it is unjust to my clients if my values are impeding
their time in counseling and possibly their well-being. Being aware of my position, values, and
worldview is critical in the counseling profession.
The canary story echoes the agency of changing systems over changing individuals. In
this story the canaries were not weak, it was the toxic environment they were living in that killed
them (M. Dolberry, personal communication, Novemer 7
th
, 2012). This is similar to individuals
in the system appearing to be weak or mentally ill, but the real problem is the environment they
are in created by the greater systems acting on them. When counseling for social justice it is
important for me to empower my clients with self-advocacy skills and give light to the resilience
they have established. It is also important to explore systems when appropriate and advocate
with them or on their behalf outside of sessions.
Another main concept that I am taking away from this class that relates to counseling for
social justice came from my reading of A Smile as Big as the Moon by Mike Kersjes (2002).
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This book followed a group of students with special needs to Space Camp, a place traditionally
for gifted students. In short these students excelled and Mike raved, given the right amount of
support encouragement, given the room to succeed as well as fail, these kids were capable of
almost anything (Kersjes, 2002, p. 264). Seeing how well these students did makes me think
outside of the box, outside of the traditional classroom, and outside of traditional ways of
learning. It is my job as a school counselor to provide equitable services to all and help students
reach their highest potential. If the traditional classroom, curriculum, or system isn't working I
need to be the advocate and create change. Mike Kersjes did this for his students and they
excelled, learned about social skills and teambuilding, and most importantly felt more accepted
(Kersjes, 2002). For these students the semantic environment was working against them. All
they needed was a change in direction, support, and encouragement. In my future work I will
remember these students; I will remember that when given change and support they could
accomplish almost anything. I will remember that this concept will apply to all my students.
Scholarly Support for my Opinions
In addition to A Smile as Big as the Moon and our class discussions, the article we read
on critical race theory and a textbook I own on advocacy support my beliefs about social justice.
Critical race theory purports that racism still exists and that it is almost normal in American
society (Ladson-Billings, 1998). This creates agency for my work in counseling for social
justice. This article by Ladson-Billings (1998) also suggests that storytelling is a part of critical
race theory. There is a form of therapy called narrative therapy where the client is guided and
supported to tell their story. This theory also seeks to externalize problems; the problem is the
problem, not the client. Narrative therapy and storytelling in critical race theory have the same
foundations; both are ways of expressing your life through your worldview.
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Manivong Ratts, a counseling faculty at Seattle University, wrote a book on advocacy
competencies. It is written for the professional counselor and is very practical for my work as a
counselor for change and justice. The advocacy competencies in this book provide counselors
with a structure for addressing issues of oppression and recognize the negative impact
oppression has on mental health, and the recent shift toward a social justice counseling
perspective (Ratts, Toporek, & Lewis, 2010, p. 7). This book is the most specific and valuable
book I own that aligns with my beliefs about social justice in my future counseling role. Each
chapter is concise and focuses on real issues clients will bring to session. This is undoubtedly a
credible resource that I will use consistently.
Insights and Transformations
Several times in the advocacy textbook (Ratts, 2010) and in our class discussions the
notion of resistance was discussed. Being in an institution where social justice is in our mission I
am surrounded by people who are either fighters for change currently, see some positive aspects
of social justice, or have at least heard about it. Outside Seattle University, this idea may be new
to people and they may be resistant to believing in the agency of social justice. After all, fitting
in and being comfortable feels so good, right? Id argue that that feeling is a right to every homo
sapien sapien. Going against the status quo and perhaps your comfort zone and feeling pushback
from the community is hard. There will be times where I feel resistance from administration and
the community and it is then when I reflect on my purpose. Is what I am doing helping my
clients? Are my collaborative efforts helping? Am I willing to pay for my integrity? These
questions will guide my work and are insights I have gained from this social justice course.
Conclusion
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The counseling profession is a diverse field, as counselors are to be competent in any
issue the client brings to session. When thinking of all the mental health issues and the
diversification of my clients, the task of being competent in everything is daunting. One thing I
continually read about, talk about, and know I will work with daily is counseling for social
justice. I believe in counseling. I believe in social justice. I believe in the necessity of using
social justice counseling skills and competencies in and out of session. I believe in helping
others. I believe in believing in and supporting my students. I believe change is necessary at the
toxic environment, or at the systems level. In summary, I believe that it is my job to counsel for
social justice.

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References
Hays, P. A. (2008). Addressing cultural complexities in practice: Assessment, diagnosis, and
therapy (2
nd
Ed.). Washington DC: American Psychological Association.
Kersjes, M. with Layden, J. (2002). A smile as big as the moon. Ney York, NY: St. Martins
Press.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1998). Just what is critical race theory and whats it doing in a nice field
like education? Qualitative Studies in Education, 11(1), 7-24.
Ratts, M. J., Toporek, R. L., & Lewis, J. A. (Eds.). (2010). ACA Advocacy Competencies: A
social justice framework for counselors. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling
Association.