Counseling Psychology: The Ally Identity

Social workers are often on the forefront in the fight against any form of oppression as against the marginalized society. These demanding but oftentimes unappreciated efforts are often addressed through the conscious use of skills and knowledge of the problems being solved against. When such oppression is however committed against them within the organization where they work, the social worker seems to be mum about the situation, or their efforts perhaps are rendered inutile. North America social workers experience this form of oppression within the social service institution. For this reason, I examine the arguments why the social workers need to be aware of the existence of this unique form of oppression. In order to eliminate oppression in the social welfare workplace, the social workers, in their pursuit of social change, must have a competent understanding of the theory around racism and oppression.

Values, Morals, and Beliefs are components that play a role in an individual’s self-identity. The establishment of these components shape human nature, behavior, and the development of an individual’s purpose. The basis of these fundamentals has contributed to my desire to become a counselor. This paper will discuss my views of human nature, factors of behavior changes, goals of therapy, the roles of a therapist, and the counseling approaches that I chose to incorporate in a practice.

Adams, W. Blumenfeld, C. Castaneda, H. Hackman, M. Peters, & X. Zuniga book “Readings in diversity and social justice” chapters 6-10 (2010) they discussed in order to rid oppression it starts with recognizing our social identity and how it contributed to our socialization. In order to understand socialization you need to understand the socialization cycle. Supporting subordinate groups are privileged and target groups are disfranchised but the worse is these roles are determined without our permission. The authors argue that once individuals understand oppression and want to make a change they become frustrated with the process of liberation. Supporting that the process of liberation is a cycle that begins with empowerment of self, ends with maintain, and at the core is a serious of attributes (self-love, hope, self-esteem, balance, joy, support, security, spiritual base, and authentic love of others. In differ the authors’ further support the idea white people are compensating for the system of advantage but as high as the cost of black people. The authors back up this claim through the notion of whites benefit from racism but they don’t all benefit

We talk a lot about our social location, or identifying who we are. Before I get further into this paper I wish to identify myself. I am a white male born to two white, heterosexual Anglican parents. I grew up having mostly white friends, until graduating high school. I also have been diagnosed with clinical depression, which is a significant attribute of my identity. As a result of these intersectional attributes they create an identity that is both privileged and oppressed and these elements change depending on the situation (Curry-Steven, 2007, p.37). It is important to understand who you are, as it will shape who I am in the work I do as a social worker.

In conceptualizing diversity, a social worker needs to adopt an extensive social background that includes institutional or structural arrangements, identify the connection of multiple identities, and incorporate an unequivocal social justice course (Ortiz & Jani, 2010). Conflict theory informs advocacy efforts, policy formulations, and macro-level practice, striving to end oppression and discrimination (Hutchison, 2013). A social worker explains persistent social inequality and social conflict in the effort to help a client rise up against oppression in the critical race theory. These theories emphasize the impact of power structure, power differentials, and institutionalized inequality on individual lives versus internal

The Key Themes assignment was a unique assignment that will be attached to the end of this paper. It was unique in the fact that we looked at the broad range of services that social service workers dealt with and talked about which populations benefited from these services the most. It helped me gain a more clinical understanding of the different functions of the services provided by social service workers. Multiculturalism Niagara College’s Multiculturalism course was full to the brim of knowledge spanning Discrimination, racism, sexuality, and immigration along with much more. The first thing I learned in the course were about multiculturalism and ethnocentrism.

As social workers, we should be aware of the history of oppression among Native Americans in order to effectively provide services. To do that we must be conscious of the amount of loss and the unresolved pain associated with racism, colonialism, and oppression the Natives have endured and the lasting effects of such events. The vast diversity and differences that exist among Native tribes such as different languages, beliefs, customs, and spirituality, etc. is something we must also take into consideration when assisting this community.

The beginning keynote speaker for the Social Work Teach-In, Reverend Douglas VanDoren, made a compelling speech on the concepts of racism and how White privilege contributes to the increased oppression of certain vulnerable populations. A statement that he made that resonated with me was, “We should see the difference in color. We should not be colorblind.” He made it clear to his audience that each of us should recognize the differences that individuals have and the cultural norms that they possess. With each person’s differences, there is a chance that communities will need to recognize the resources that are now necessary and what positive aspects different cultures could bring to community involvement.

Pere Trahan & Lemberger (2014) potential African American clients could be reserved during at the beginning of counseling when the counselor is of a different race. Research has shown that counselors who address a client’s culture and diversity are more likely to have a better therapeutic alliance and better treatment outcomes (Trahan and Lemberger, 2014). Thus, making culture and ethnicity topics that should be addressed promptly with clients. Trahan & Lemberger (2014) suggest counselors encourage clients to use narrative storytelling to share their experiences with racism or discrimination. A counselor can benefit from hearing a client’s stories and gain an in depth understanding the client’s worldview and aid in selecting an intervention

Upon entering into Barry University (B.U.), I was an insecure black African- American woman full of passion coupled with a myriad misconceptions of what I thought social work consist of. However, during my two years as a undergrad student I learned that those misconceptions had kept me stagnant in facing and understanding my past traumatic events of life that could have had an negative effected on further clients and how I interact with others. For that reason, I would say my best experience in Barry’s BSW program was an assignment that I had to partake in called the Cultural Journal. This assignment not only hope me to learned about my cohorts’ culture as a Philippine woman, I learned that our culture had a lot in common such as that the

Many students of social work internalize personal feelings of guilt and/or shame when consciousness of racism is assessed in the classroom (Sanders, 2016). Utilizing classroom settings to introduce race relations is a taboo subject that offers enlightenment associated with difficult feelings. Reading and writing about people who are oppressed forces an individual to evaluate their role and influence on the subject. Students who find this uncomfortable or unnecessary lose focus on the intent of the course and the need to advocate for clients (Tatum, 1992).

In counseling African American women, issues involving racial identity and conflict should be explored. Counselors can help African American females counteract negative images associated with being Black and being female; enhancing internal strength by developing pride and dignity in Black womanhood can serve as a buffer to racism and sexism and can prevent the incorporation of negative images into their own belief systems (Sue & Sue, 2013, p. 374). Counselors should be aware of the culture and familiar with the struggles and life events that have taken place for African American females in order to relate, build rapport, and be helpful to them.

It is ethical for counselors to address these influences they may face to better serve their clients and can face their own preconceptions that may surface from these forms of oppression. When learning about multiculturalism and social justice in counselor education, whiteness is taking off because in order to be able to address classism and who suffers from it, we must also take into account who benefits from it, and it usually is at the cost of people of

During my time as an undergraduate, I majored in philosophy but intentionally selected courses that would further my knowledge on my range of interests in social justice and law. As I started to engage and learn about theories of intersectionality, social and structural inequalities and constructs, I grew angry at the world we have created for ourselves to live in. I understood that the injustices imposed on people at the dangerous intersections of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, race, and ability are frequent and widespread. The oppressive forces that have allowed for the creation of such injustices have not only routinely excluded and silenced the voices of many groups of people, but have destroyed countless lives.

Therapy, according to Van Decken (2001) “is like a puzzle, at times there is no picture, at times there are missing pieces, and at times you just have to do another puzzle”. The terms feminist and solutions provoke disparate feelings and thoughts to the effect that both are viewed as negative and positive. However there is nothing wrong with the notion that all human beings possess the right to pursue their liberties regardless of gender, race, religion, and frame of mind. Thus in order to identify these liberties this paper represents a small endeavor to outline overviews, applicability to multicultural contexts, my perceived personal benefits, limitations and my personal preferences regarding Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) and Feminist