Chapter 5: Professional and Social Advocacy in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Chapter Overview
The authors discuss the importance of addressing professional and social advocacy in clinical mental
health. The authors discuss the interrelatedness of professional and social advocacy and the importance
of social advocacy as a professional imperative. Additionally, the authors offer recommendations for how
mental health counselors can become change agents.
Key Words
Advocacy – Action taken on behalf of clients or the counseling profession to support appropriate policies
and standards for the profession.
Empowerment – Process by which people, organizations, or groups who are powerless and marginalized
build self-efficacy to gain reasonable control over their lives.
Oppression – A system that allows access to the services, rewards, benefits, and privileges of society
based on membership in a particular group.
Privilege – Relates to the attitudes and behaviors that perpetuate the belief that one group’s beliefs and
standards are superior to other groups.
Professional Identity – Relates to one’s understanding of the historical foundations of counseling and
ethical standards of practice and having a clear definition of counseling and understanding of the
counselor role.
Social Justice – belief in a just world that respects and protects human rights.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What was the mission of the ACA Advocacy Competencies Taskforce?
a) To identify which client groups need counselors to advocate for them.
b) To develop a set of competencies for counselors working on behalf of their clients to remove
the barriers to optimal health and positive growth.
c) To develop an ACA approved advocacy model to guide clinicians
d) To promote the profession of counseling
2. The attitudes and behaviors the perpetuate the belief that one group’s beliefs and standards are
superior to other groups and it related to one group having control, power, assess, and advantage
over another group is:
a) Oppression
b) Privilege
c) Social Justice
d) Client Advocacy
3. What are the six domains of the Advocacy Competencies?
a) client/student empowerment, client/student advocacy, community collaborations, systems
advocacy, public image, and social/political advocacy.
b) client/student empowerment, client/student advocacy, community outreach, systems
advocacy, public image, and social/political collaborations.
c) client/student collaborations, client/student advocacy, community collaborations, systems
advocacy, public relations, and social/political advocacy.
d) client/student counseling, client/student advocacy, community collaborations, systems
advocacy, public relations, and social/political collaborations.
4. What are the two intersecting dimensions of the advocacy competencies?
a) Professional advocacy and client advocacy
b) Extent of client’s involvement and level of intervention
c) Setting in which clinician works and Extent of client’s involvement
d) Level of intervention and level of experience
5. Which of the following is NOT a possible action of professional advocacy?
a) Promoting standards in counselor training
b) Advocating for market place recognition
c) Developing inter and intra-professional relationships to promote the counseling profession
and the clients that we serve
d) Client empowerment
6. What is the fifth force of counseling?
a) Multiculturalism
b) Behaviorism
c) Social Justice
d) Psychoanalytic
7. Which of the following is a skill necessary in order to advocate at the social/political level?
a) Having the ability to distinguish problems that can be best resolved through social/political
advocacy
b) Having an understanding of various systems
c) Having the ability to collaborate with allies an understanding of the political structure
d) All of the above
8. Which of the following statement refers to Frank Parson’s contribution to the development of
social justice as the fifth force of counseling?
a) Established the Vocational Bureau
b) Spearheaded the Mental Hygiene Movement
c) Spearheaded the special issue of Personnel and Guidance Journal on Counseling and the
Social Revolution
d) Coined the terms social justice, the fifth force in counseling
9. Which of the following statements is FALSE?
a) The goal of social justice is to ensure that every individual has an opportunity to resources
b) In order to advocate effectively, we must be able to identify both the protective factors and
barriers that impact healthy development
c) Social justice and advocacy are new ideas in the field of counseling
d) Marketplace recognition is a key component of professional advocacy
10. “Any action taken on behalf of the client to assure fair and equitable treatment” refers to
a) Social advocacy
b) Privilege
c) Oppression
d) Professional advocacy
11. Oppression can be displayed by
a) a heterosexual White male.
b) a bisexual White female.
c) a transgendered Caucasia
d) all of the above
12. Which of the following can influence one’s privilege:
a) Religion
b) Education
c) Socio-economic status
d) All of the above
13. Which is not one of the tiers of the Three-tiered Model of Advocacy:
a) Self-awareness
b) Knowledge
c) Client Issues
d) Community Collaboration
14. Which statement is incorrect about tertiary oppression?
a) Tertiary oppression is an example of oppression by force from the majority group
b) Internalized oppression is synonymous with tertiary oppression
c) Tertiary oppression can be passive
d) Tertiary oppression occurs when a member of the minority group identifies with the majority
group
15. Which statement is incorrect?
a) Privilege and oppression are inversely related
b) One can be both an oppressor and oppressed
c) Privilege is a complex construct yet one-dimensional construct
d) Privilege manifests itself differently based on multiple identities
Activities
1. Break into small groups and discuss the following: How would you describe yourself as a cultural
being? What cultural groups are you a member of that gives makes privileged or oppressed? How might
your group membership influence your work with your clients?
2. Review the case of Charlie. How can you advocate for him and the clinical mental health counseling
profession? Discuss your plan in a small group.
3. Pick one marginalized group (e.g., Asian female, Black gay male; homeless individual) and based on
one of the advocacy models presented in the chapter, how would you go about advocating for this group?
4. Join the ACA Government Relations Listserv to stay updated on events that directly affect our
profession. Send an email to CLum@counsleing.org with the subject line “GR Listserv Sign Up” to
subscribe to the listserv,.
5. Volunteer your time with a local service organization that works for social justice (e.g., HIV/AIDS
service organization, local domestic violence shelter, homeless shelter).
Discussion Questions
1. Do you believe social justice counseling should be the fifth force in counseling? Defend your response.
(See Ratts, 2009)
2. What are some potential ethical concerns that social justice-minded mental health counselor might
encounter? For example, many mental health counselors are cautious about imposing their values on their
clients. Yet, social justice counseling involves knowing what you believe in and acting upon those beliefs.
3. The authors in this chapter along with others (i.e., Myers et al, 2004) argue that social advocacy and
professional advocacy are intertwined and that both are necessary. What is your position on the
relationship between social and professional advocacy.
4. Where have you seen examples of privilege and oppression? Share your story with others. How do you
think your experiences with privilege and oppression will impact your work with you clients?
Multiple Choice Questions – Answer Key