The following information is provided by the CSJ division of the ACA at
counselorsforsocialjustice.com
What is Counselors for Social Justice?
The mission of Counselors for Social Justice is to work to promote social justice in our society through confronting oppressive systems of power and privilege that affect professional counselors and our clients and to assist in the positive change in our society through the professional development of counselors.
What is social justice in counseling?
Social justice counseling represents a multifaceted approach to counseling in which practitioners strive to simultaneously promote human development and the common good through addressing challenges related to both individual and distributive justice. Social justice counseling includes empowerment of the individual as well as active confrontation of injustice and inequality in society as they impact clientele as well as those in their systemic contexts. In doing so, social justice counselors direct attention to the promotion of four critical principles that guide their work; equity, access, participation, and harmony. This work is done with a focus on the cultural, contextual, and individual needs of those served. - counselorsforsocialjustice.com
Please read below for a portion of the presidents message for CSJ as a division of the ACA, and follow this link to view the entire statement: http://counselorsforsocialjustice.com/CSJ2f.html
Overview of CSJ
We are a relatively new organization when you consider that we became an officially recognized division of the American Counseling Association (ACA) on September 27, 2002. In spite of being a relatively new division of ACA, we have made great strides. For example, the ACA Advocacy Competencies is being used with more frequency in the field. We are now seeing more special issues on social justice in the counseling literature [See Special Issues of the Journal of Counseling and Development (Summer 2009) and the Journal for Specialists in Group Work (Fall 2010)]. It is also becoming more common for counselors to explore whether in-office microlevel or out-of-office macrolevel advocacy interventions are necessary when working with clients. In addition, through our partnership with Psychologists for Social Responsibility (PSY-SR), we have the Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology. The journal editors are Dr. Rebecca L. Toporek (San Francisco State University) and Dr. Tod Sloan (Lewis and ClarkCollege). I encourage you to check out the many articles on social change work if you have not yet had a chance. These are just some of the many great things we have been able to accomplish as an organization. Much of what we’ve been able to accomplish is due to people’s belief in a cause bigger than their own. It is the belief in the possibility of a better world that has transformed the field of counseling and psychology and made us a sustainable resource to society.
2011-2012 CSJ Presidential Theme
As with any new organization there are stages of growth and development. I think it is safe to say that we are past the infancy stage as an organization of visioning, planning and implementing. We are firmly established as an organization. We are strong in our commitment to justice, we are fiscally sound, and we have had strong leadership throughout the organization’s history. All of these factors have allowed us to mature as an organization. The next phase of our maturation as an organization is sustainability and maturity. How can we continue to build on the foundation that CSJ's founders set in place? Where do we want to be 5 or 10 years from now as an organization? How can we as an organization become a more sustainable force in the profession?
These questions lead me to my Presidential theme for the year, “From Marginto Center: Integrating Social Justice into the Fabric of the Counseling Profession.” I believe we need to become more intentional and systematic with how we integrate social justice into the profession. I see us doing this by: (1) transforming counselor education and training; (2) integrating social justice tenets into the revision of the ACA Code of Ethics; and (3) creating new social justice based models and paradigms. Item #3 is based on my belief that we cannot continue using archaic paradigms to resolve 21st century problems. We must also refrain from the practice of revising existing counseling theories, which are often Eurocentrically based, to make them fit with historically marginalized clients. This belief is based on the premise that the fundamental tenets of these theories remain the same.
counselorsforsocialjustice.com
What is Counselors for Social Justice?
The mission of Counselors for Social Justice is to work to promote social justice in our society through confronting oppressive systems of power and privilege that affect professional counselors and our clients and to assist in the positive change in our society through the professional development of counselors.
What is social justice in counseling?
Social justice counseling represents a multifaceted approach to counseling in which practitioners strive to simultaneously promote human development and the common good through addressing challenges related to both individual and distributive justice. Social justice counseling includes empowerment of the individual as well as active confrontation of injustice and inequality in society as they impact clientele as well as those in their systemic contexts. In doing so, social justice counselors direct attention to the promotion of four critical principles that guide their work; equity, access, participation, and harmony. This work is done with a focus on the cultural, contextual, and individual needs of those served. - counselorsforsocialjustice.com
Please read below for a portion of the presidents message for CSJ as a division of the ACA, and follow this link to view the entire statement: http://counselorsforsocialjustice.com/CSJ2f.html
Overview of CSJ
We are a relatively new organization when you consider that we became an officially recognized division of the American Counseling Association (ACA) on September 27, 2002. In spite of being a relatively new division of ACA, we have made great strides. For example, the ACA Advocacy Competencies is being used with more frequency in the field. We are now seeing more special issues on social justice in the counseling literature [See Special Issues of the Journal of Counseling and Development (Summer 2009) and the Journal for Specialists in Group Work (Fall 2010)]. It is also becoming more common for counselors to explore whether in-office microlevel or out-of-office macrolevel advocacy interventions are necessary when working with clients. In addition, through our partnership with Psychologists for Social Responsibility (PSY-SR), we have the Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology. The journal editors are Dr. Rebecca L. Toporek (San Francisco State University) and Dr. Tod Sloan (Lewis and ClarkCollege). I encourage you to check out the many articles on social change work if you have not yet had a chance. These are just some of the many great things we have been able to accomplish as an organization. Much of what we’ve been able to accomplish is due to people’s belief in a cause bigger than their own. It is the belief in the possibility of a better world that has transformed the field of counseling and psychology and made us a sustainable resource to society.
2011-2012 CSJ Presidential Theme
As with any new organization there are stages of growth and development. I think it is safe to say that we are past the infancy stage as an organization of visioning, planning and implementing. We are firmly established as an organization. We are strong in our commitment to justice, we are fiscally sound, and we have had strong leadership throughout the organization’s history. All of these factors have allowed us to mature as an organization. The next phase of our maturation as an organization is sustainability and maturity. How can we continue to build on the foundation that CSJ's founders set in place? Where do we want to be 5 or 10 years from now as an organization? How can we as an organization become a more sustainable force in the profession?
These questions lead me to my Presidential theme for the year, “From Marginto Center: Integrating Social Justice into the Fabric of the Counseling Profession.” I believe we need to become more intentional and systematic with how we integrate social justice into the profession. I see us doing this by: (1) transforming counselor education and training; (2) integrating social justice tenets into the revision of the ACA Code of Ethics; and (3) creating new social justice based models and paradigms. Item #3 is based on my belief that we cannot continue using archaic paradigms to resolve 21st century problems. We must also refrain from the practice of revising existing counseling theories, which are often Eurocentrically based, to make them fit with historically marginalized clients. This belief is based on the premise that the fundamental tenets of these theories remain the same.