Institutional and Societal Accountability: Social Justice The counseling session takes place within and reflects the larger culture. Although counseling relationships can undoubtedly aid in the wellness of clients, they do not occur in a vacuum, and health cannot be achieved when social injustice is present. Counselors must use their authority and influence to dismantle institutions and power systems that oppress and traumatize clients based on race, class, disability, LGBTQ status, and other dimensions of diversity (Gallardo, 2014). Counselors must embrace their power due to their position and various other intersecting aspects of privilege (e.g., being male, White, straight, abled, financially stable, and educated). Embracing one’s power allows the counselor to develop “more understanding [of] what this means in the context of one’s life, while subsequently taking actions to lessen pain and suffering in others” (Gallardo, 2014, p. 6). Traditionally some counselors considered issues of social justice outside the realm of their practice; however, by “relegating … social justice discourse to a select few,” the majority of counselors “exclude[d] themselves from embracing their power and the role they play in continuing to perpetuate the very systems that” create oppression, which does nothing to change the status quo and prevents counselors from “synthesis(ing) … efforts to heal communities” and institutions (Gallardo, 2014, p. 5). The counselor practicing within a social justice orientation would not locate the problem within the individual but would look to the environmental factors that contribute to the individual’s actions and reactions (Sue & Sue, 2016).
Institutional and societal change begins with asking questions that help to move individual counselors and institutions forward. Questions that counselors should consider examining include the following: ● How do behaviors within counseling sessions actively challenge any power imbalances and involve communities experiencing marginalization? ● How, as counselors, do we address inequalities? ● How am I extending my responsibility beyond individual clients? ● How am I advocating for policy and practice changes at institutional, community, state, and national levels? ● What institutional structures are in place that addresses inequalities? ● What training and professional development is offered in our institution or community that addresses inequalities? ● How can we engage our community to ensure its voice is heard in this work? (Fisher-Borne et al., 2015, p. 176) These questions serve as a starting point for counselors to pursue actions that address social injustices. Counselors can use their position to advocate for changes within institutions and the broader community. When counselors work with clients toward social justice, they empower clients and create an environment for them to experience wellness that is impossible to achieve within individual counseling sessions. populations viewed as ‘the other’ at various times in the country’s history” as well as in the present (Carten, 2016, p. xlii). Othering assumes that various oppressed and marginalized populations are different from the American norm, commonly understood as White, middle class, able- bodied, straight, male, and individually responsible for any difficulties they may experience. Multicultural counseling and cultural competency frameworks commonly assume that the counselor is White and that clients are the other and set out to describe what various racial and ethnic groups believe and how they act as a group. On the other hand, a cultural humility framework emphasizes self-understanding as primary to understanding others. To facilitate self- understanding, cultural humility encourages ongoing critical self-reflection, asking the counselor to delve into their cultural identity and its effect on counseling relationships. Cultural humility does not assume the counselor’s identity and especially challenges White practitioners to explore and understand their White identity. Table 5 illustrates the differences between (multi)cultural competence and cultural humility frameworks.
Differences Between Multicultural Competency and Cultural Humility Cultural humility is a conceptual framework that was first developed and utilized in medicine and nursing in the 1990s. Since then, it has become more widely applied to counseling. The framework addresses some shortcomings within the cultural competency and multicultural counseling frameworks. The cultural humility approach differs from the multicultural competency approach in that it recognizes that knowledge of different cultural backgrounds is
insufficient to develop an effective counseling relationship with each individual. It shifts the focus from the counselor’s accumulation of knowledge to the counselor’s self- understanding and a stance characterized by openness (Travis, 2021). While competence suggests mastery, humility is an intrapersonal and interpersonal approach that cultivates person-centered care (Leeks, 2019). The cultural competency and multicultural counseling frameworks are most often criticized for creating a model that serves “other” ethnic, racial, and various minority groups (Carten, 2016, p. xlii) while not acknowledging Whiteness as an identity and as a culture. “Othering” is the term used for the “biased assumptions about Table 5: (Multi) Cultural Competence and Cultural Humility (Multi) Cultural Competence
Cultural Humility
● Acknowledges layers of cultural identity. ● Recognizes the danger of stereotyping. ● Assumes the problem is a lack of knowledge, awareness, and skills to work across lines of difference. ● Individuals and organizations develop the values, knowledge, and skills to work across lines of difference.
● Acknowledges layers of cultural identity. ● Understands that working with cultural differences is an ongoing, lifelong process. ● Emphasizes understanding self as well as understanding other clients. ● Assumes an understanding of self, communities, and colleagues is needed to understand clients. ● Requires humility, recognition, and understanding of power imbalances within the client–counselor relationship.
Perspectives on culture
Assumptions
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