Advocacy in Counseling Psychology: My Journey

By: Topaza Yu (she/her/hers/elle)

Photo by Polina Kovaleva

In my counseling psychology doctoral program, one of the foremost lessons imparted was the importance of social justice and advocacy. Within the realm of counseling psychology, social justice encapsulates the notion that counselors wield their knowledge and expertise to not only create fresh opportunities for their clients but also to challenge and transform systems of oppression and privilege that perpetuate injustice. Furthermore, it entails advocating for policies and laws that uphold principles of equity and fairness. It's important for psychologists to delve into historical and sociocultural factors contributing to social inequity and generational trauma, recognizing the detrimental impact that the denial of equal rights and opportunities can have on a client's mental health and quality of life.

My journey through the counseling psychology sector has been marked by navigating the complexities of my intersecting identities as a queer, disabled woman of color, where I have experienced the negative impacts of multiple systems of oppression. While social justice remains an integral facet of counseling psychology, it's imperative to flag certain multicultural considerations that may create barriers to culturally diverse clients such as Black, Indigenous, and other People of Colour (BIPOC) accessing quality mental health services and resources. As psychology trainees, we often find ourselves tasked with aligning with a school of psychology or a therapeutic approach that resonates with us. Personally, I've been drawn to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a form of psychotherapy aimed to help people change unhelpful or unhealthy ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving. However, it's worth noting that some argue CBT may not resonate with the worldviews and practices of many ethnic and cultural minority group members due to its foundation in Western and Eurocentric cultural models.

To make CBT more culturally sensitive and responsive, I've tried to actively employ an anti-racist and anti-oppression (ARAO) lens in my clinical practice. This involves assisting clients in honoring and accepting their core cultural beliefs, thereby leveraging these beliefs as sources of strength and resilience to enhance their mental health. Additionally, validating clients' experiences of oppression while considering the necessity for environmental change is crucial for providing culturally responsive care to diverse clients. As clinicians, acknowledging systems of oppression and privilege, such as colonialism, racism, ageism, sexism, heterosexism, and ableism, can create a therapeutic space conducive to deeper discussions regarding the impact of these systems on clients' lives.

As our world becomes increasingly multicultural, and our interactions grow more cross-cultural, the question arises: How do we, as healthcare professionals and licensed psychologists, adapt and actively integrate an ARAO lens into our clinical practice to ensure maximum cultural responsiveness, where clients can their most authentic self in therapy?