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Multicultural counseling and career
Social justice as a principle of advocacy
Multicultural counseling and career
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Social justice advocacy has served as organized efforts with the intended purpose to encourage public attitudes, form strategies, laws to create a more socially just society, led by the vision of human rights. The main purpose for these efforts is to provide awareness of socio-economic inequalities, protection of social rights, as well as racial identity, experiences of oppression and spiritualty. Social justice advocacy and social justice counseling play a very important role in today’s society and are mutually being utilized in the counseling world. Activism will always be needed and has been perceived to be one of the most powerful tools for initiating social change. What movements can we do to change the world and make a difference? …show more content…
(Hays & Erford, 2014 p 59). In the counseling world in order to effectively work with clients from diverse background and cultures, it is important to provide a culturally safe environment and promote equality to all persons. Our main focus should be those that have already experienced discrimination due to their race/ethnicity, gender, age or economic status. Our efforts and “Beliefs that all people should have the right to equitable treatment and fair allocation of societal resources, the goal of social justice counseling is to establish an equal distribution of power and resources through advocacy to ensure that all people have the tools and resources for a “good life.” (Hays & Erford, 2014 p 59). The Multicultural and social justice counseling competencies (MSJCC) has implemented and created several competencies useful for the counseling profession. These competencies work as the foundation for something positive if properly implemented. It allows the counselor to address issues of power, privilege, and oppression and how each day the client is faced with a variety of worries that require the counselor to intervene and recommend the proper interventions needed in order for the client to move …show more content…
By practicing social advocacy and supporting change we have the opportunity to influence social policy, especially within our government and help promote equality, social justice, and ultimately end social injustice. Advocacy gives people the opportunity to learn and become more aware of their own rights and the opportunity to exercise those rights and have a voice on decision that concern their lives. In conclusion, social advocacy and social justice counseling and social injustice will always be related. Advocacy promotes change, change will always be needed for the purpose of eliminating social injustice. Social justice counseling will always fight towards a fair distribution of resources for those that are disadvantaged and deserve fair treatment. Everyone matters and deserves equitable treatment and social
Action is inherent in the tasks of a social activist. Ideas alone are not enough. Though the development of philosophies and manifestos is the basis for every social movement and every stride toward social justice, without social action and the social activist, little can ever be accomplished. The great social activist must, by definition, be the great social action taker. Jane Addams was the epitome of such an action taker.
Swenson C. R. (1998). Clinical Social Work's Contribution to a Social Justice Perspective. Social Work (1998) 43 (6): 527-537 doi:10.1093/sw/43.6.527
Institutions that affect our social justice views can include religions, schools, our government, social networking and media. Our own identity of ourselves is highly impacted by the restrictions and judgments that come along with these institutions. Whether you believe in it or not, you are impacted directly by the views from these institutions. The views of these institutions can be a determining factor in your decisions, because if you decide the rebel against these views you can look like an outsider. Social justice defines what should be done in order the live the perfect American Dream, be socially acceptable, fulfill life to the fullest and be an active member of society.
Social workers play a pivotal role helping one achieve social justice. “As such, the social justice mandate of the social work profession may be regarded as an ethical obligation to ensure that all persons have an equal right to access societal resources and opportunities so that they may fully participate in and be contributing members of society” (DuBois 136). Everyone deserves to live in a fair and equal society however, in the movie Selma portraying the years 1964-1965, this wasn’t how the American society lived. Despite segregation slowly coming to an end, racism was still a huge issue as blacks were denied the right to vote. This is where social workers step in: social injustice and inequality.
Consequently, social work intervention depends on knowledge developed from the particular context where the practice is performed. Thus, before re-defining the standardization of social work, the priority is social justice and social change, and how policies and practices sustain oppression and inequalities. Thus, the real challenge is to enhance the ability to unravel the complexities of social dynamics and to develop effective tools that generate a positive change within
In a truly just society, justice would lead to a heightening of the vulnerable patients making their health perhaps the only position of their life that is no longer vulnerable. Until social justice is applied to our geopolitical stage, gender and ethnicity differences will continue to limit work opportunities and fair pay. But, if we were to get the health component right, their health would not be a compounding factor in their vulnerability. Instead, good health can help to establish one’s capabilities to explore opportunities and better their lives. Whether it is Nussbaum’s (2000) exhaustive list of 10 essential capabilities or liberalism’s primary good (Almgren, 2013, p. 35), good health and well-being enables a person to fulfill their
Defined by the NASW (2016), social justice is the idea that everyone is entitled to equal economic, political, and social rights and opportunities. This is one of the main goals social workers aim to achieve. There are many injustices occurring in the world today, such as wage inequalities, institutional racism, and the amount of people living in poverty. Fighting for social justice is fighting for equality in all of these
Social work is a profession, which works to empower individuals through a variety of different tactics. They facilitate empowerment in their clients by working with them one on one or in small groups. Advocating for social justice is an ongoing job in social work. Social work is not about fixing people. It is about empowering people to recognize the strengths that they themselves possess.
As I progress through my degree and career, I understand that social work is a diverse field and my area of practice may change. Though, the underlying principles of social work are interwoven across each sector and the foundation of my practice is reinforced by my drive to be an agent of change, alleviate barriers that impede on social justice for individual, groups and
Social Workers also approach the clients to not only resolve personal conflicts but to allow the client to function best within their environments. Social Work distinguishing characteristics include the emphasis on the person-in-environment model as well as its emphasis on social justice. Compared to other similar professions, Social Work has differing professional values and ethics that include appreciation to human diversity, understanding of social welfare policy and services, emphasis on both social and economic justice, as well as a strong foundation in education. The importance of Social Work includes numerous of explanations. Social Workers help countless of people navigate through major life challenges or setbacks to find hope as well as options to achieve greater things. Not only do Social Workers help individuals overcome problems but they also stand up for human rights and social justice to assist
Social Justice enables individuals to become more empowered and self-aware. It gives individuals equal access and diminishes negative prejudices and stereotypes. The minority in society is oppressed by the dominant ones and social justice strives to diminish that. I am privileged and that allows me to obtain an education to help others. I am going to use this to help others gain the same privileges that I have and be able to build the future they want. Throughout middle school I would have friends that would be made fun of or denied entry to certain social groups, unless they were with me. Just because they had a different skin color or their culture was different they were not allowed to play tag on the playground. Associating negative stereotypes and prejudices, about cultures or ethnicity, to a young child is not okay. Only letting a child join a game of tag when a member of the dominant group is accompanying them is also not okay. This is a huge issue in society and not just when it comes to children, teaching children to become culturally competent and aware at a young age will lead to the decrease of this social issue. I strive to be culturally competent enough to have the ability to aid various individuals on their road to empowerment, safety, and self-healing. Educating myself is just the first step, joining the Social Work program will help me expand my field of knowledge. Through this, I will be enabled to become a better social worker and
In order to effect social justice changes within counseling, counselors will have to re conceptualize the traditional perception of counseling. Conversely, acquiring multicultural competence is necessary to addressing social justice and ethical issues encountered within the counseling process as according to the ACA code of ethics, “counselors have an ethical obligation to be multiculturally competent” (Lee, 2007, p. 182). Multicultural competence requires counselors to be aware of their own values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors and how they might impact the way they relate to their clients. Also, counselors will need to acquire knowledge and understanding of the worldviews of the diverse clients they serve. “Culturally competent counselors acting from a virtue ethics perspective recognize that the counseling relationship is situated in a shared community that includes clients, their social support systems, and a variety of resources that might be enlisted in removing systematic barriers to client growth” (Lee, 2007, p.
Although social work may be categorized as many things I believe what sets it apart from other occupations is the need to promote social justice. Barusch (2015) explained social justice for social workers is working towards an end goal for their client’s.
What does social justice mean to a mother on welfare struggling to feed her family, or to a young college graduate looking for a job? Of course it can be said that all people are subject to the same experiences included in the American dream no matter race, religion, gender, economic status; yet centuries seem to fly by like water in a downhill stream, and the world’s smudged reality of social justice is still intact. Social justice is defined as fair treatment in the distribution of wealth, opportunity, and privileges: this includes education, economic opportunities, health care, property, and fair subjugation to laws. Although some progress has been made, it is still very important for society to fully grasp
He begins with a brief acknowledgement of Dr. Dorothy Pearson and her incredible contributions to social work. He then moved into discussing social justice and social equity to lay a definitional foundation for his lecture. He went on to say social justice is a process and not