Reflective paper: Advocacy through Legislative /Policy Influence

Reflective paper: Advocacy through Legislative /Policy Influence

I have always regarded counselors and psychologists in high regard because of their involvement in solving people’s mental health and social problems. With the increased diversity of the population, there is a need for professional mental health services that are tailored to the various needs of the community. A case in mind is the oppression of people of color and gay groups whose interventions require a paradigm shift in the perception of the social environment through proactive actions and awareness on multiculturalism and the changing social dynamics. Counselors are trained to become knowledgeable and skilled in handling people from different cultural backgrounds. The training is essential for them to recognize individual attitudes, values, beliefs, and habits towards other cultures, races, and ethnicities concerning issues of social injustices like discrimination and oppression. Knowledge empowers one to have a global perspective of orientations, histories, and cultural values of marginalized groups. Skills entail the ability to draw from existing cultural experience to craft mental interventions that address the current problem.

In my opinion, multicultural competence influences the counselors’ to spearhead social justice, which basically means acting in fairness and equitably in aspects that pertain resource allocation, human rights, access to medication and treatment of marginalized groups and those that are disadvantaged because of their race, age, gender, immigration status, disability  or religious heritage. Social justice issues require an international commitment to social change. Barriers that impede social, economic development for marginalized groups need combined efforts to break.

Counselors and psychologists need to have specific social justice competencies to make their work increasingly beneficial to marginal populations. These competencies include having knowledge of social inequities manifested in the said populations and how they are displayed. They ought to actively participate in solving issues of discrimination and oppression. Awareness creation on a continuous scale through stakeholder participation and using their positions to influence change, holding interactive sessions, and other positive interventions with the affected persons to promote positive wellbeing of the concerned persons. Collaboration with conventional health models to conceptualize and harness their experiences in implementing culturally sensitive interventions. Continuous awareness creation on various types of social injustice in an international context. Institute comprehensive mental health intervention programs that are both remedial and preventive. Promote trust by participatory collaboration with community organizations to provide services to identified groups and develop advocacy skills to promote social change within the communities.

I also hold the perspective that as advocates of change, counselors and psychologists should act as an interface between the marginalized with the institutions and structures that are considered retrogressive to them. A good example is a gay person who is prejudiced at his workplace despite a stellar performance in his duties, and as a result, he ends up depressed. In ordinary situations, counseling and psychotherapy would suffice, but ideally encouraging the client to seek help from a support group (such as a gay support group or colored people support group) that advocates for their prejudices are advised. In this case, the counselor becomes a facilitator of a support system and further illustrates the fact that counselors are committed to ideals of social justice. Besides their professional training, their creativity, courage, and skill are essential to counter the effects of social injustice. They are eventually using social media platforms to articulate issues concerning their practice, to increase visibility within the profession, or even to promote participation in discussions about mental health using online media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.