Journal of Counseling & Development ■ Winter 2007 ■ Volume 8524 © 2007 by the American Counseling Association. All rights reserved.

For many decades, counselors and counseling psychologists have been concerned with the relationship between individu- als’ mental health and the social milieus in which people live. As the racial and ethnic diversity of the United States con- tinues to increase, the need for mental health professionals to tailor their mental health services to the needs of various cultural populations has become more germane (Constantine, Kindaichi, Arorash, Donnelly, & Jung, 2002). In particular, the growing recognition of the negative consequences of oppression in the lives of people of color has been crucial in helping many counselors and counseling psychologists to identify effective interventions to address such issues and to work more broadly to effect social change (Hage, 2003; Vera & Speight, 2003). Such awareness and actions have paralleled the emergence of the multicultural competence movement (Arredondo & Perez, 2003; Sue et al., 1982).

Multicultural competence generally is defined as the extent to which counselors possess appropriate levels of self-aware- ness, knowledge, and skills in working with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds (Arredondo et al., 1996; Sue, Arredondo, & McDavis, 1992). In particular, self-aware- ness entails being cognizant of one’s attitudes, beliefs, and values regarding race, ethnicity, and culture, along with one’s awareness of the sociopolitical relevance of cultural group membership in terms of issues of cultural privilege, discrimination, and oppression. The knowledge dimension of multicultural competence refers to information one has about various worldview orientations, histories of oppression endured by marginalized populations, and culture-specific values that influence the subjective and collective experi- ences of marginalized populations. The skills component of multicultural competence involves the ability to draw from an

existing fund of cultural knowledge to design mental health interventions that are relevant to marginalized populations. In many respects, multicultural competence has become inextricably linked to counselors’ and counseling psycholo- gists’ ability to commit to and actualize an agenda of social justice (Kiselica & Robinson, 2001).

Social justice reflects a fundamental valuing of fairness and equity in resources, rights, and treatment for marginal- ized individuals and groups of people who do not share equal power in society because of their immigration, racial, ethnic, age, socioeconomic, religious heritage, physical ability, or sexual orientation status groups (Fondacaro & Weinberg, 2002; Prilleltensky & Nelson, 1997). In order to address social justice issues, some counselors and counseling psy- chologists in the United States have adopted a professional commitment to ensuring global or international social change (Osborne et al., 1998). Others have been involved primar- ily at a domestic level by being concerned with helping members of U.S. society to deal with the personal, societal, and institutional barriers that impede their academic, per- sonal, social, or career development. Both of these levels of involvement in social justice issues, however, are critical in understanding the interdependence of macrosystems and microsystems in people’s lives, especially in the lives of marginalized populations.

In this article, we discuss the historical and contemporary connection to social justice issues in the fields of counsel- ing and counseling psychology vis-à-vis the multicultural counseling movement. In addition, we underscore ways that social justice issues can be incorporated into counselors’ and counseling psychologists’ work with culturally diverse clients and into the curricula of academic training programs.

Madonna G. Constantine, Sally M. Hage, and Mai M. Kindaichi, Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, all at Teach- ers College, Columbia University; Rhonda M. Bryant, Department of Counseling, Educational Leadership and Foundations, Albany State University. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Madonna G. Constantine, Department of Counsel- ing and Clinical Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University, 525 West 120th Street, Box 92, New York, NY 10027 (e-mail: mc81�@columbia.edu).

Social Justice and Multicultural Issues: Implications for the Practice and Training of Counselors and Counseling Psychologists Madonna G. Constantine, Sally M. Hage, Mai M. Kindaichi, and Rhonda M. Bryant

The authors discuss the historical and contemporary connection to social justice issues in the fields of counseling and counseling psychology via the multicultural counseling movement. In addition, the authors present ways in which social justice issues can be addressed in counselors’ and counseling psychologists’ work with clients from diverse cultural backgrounds and in graduate training programs.

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Social Justice and Multicultural Issues

Social Justice and the Multicultural Competencies: Their Connections to the Fields of Counseling and Counseling Psychology

Within the fields of counseling and counseling psychology, the holistic, strengths-based philosophy about human nature and its emphasis on instituting culturally relevant psychoedu- cational, developmental, social, and vocational interventions for diverse populations have provided fertile ground for many social justice initiatives (Vera & Speight, 2003). In fact, many counselors and counseling psychologists have functioned as leaders in identifying and implementing guidelines that address multicultural competence in mental health profes- sionals (e.g., American Psychological Association [APA], 2003; Arredondo et al., 1996; Sue et al., 1992; Sue et al., 1982; Sue et al., 1998). The development of such guidelines or “competencies” has exemplified these fields’ commitment to social change and remedying social injustices by assisting various mental health professionals to understand individuals’ circumstances and concerns from a more ecological perspec- tive (Fondacaro & Weinberg, 2002; Vera & Speight, 2003). Moreover, the Multicultural Competencies have contributed to greater awareness of the potentially oppressive roles that these professionals could unintentionally play through unfounded assumptions about the universality of cultures and human experiences (Arredondo & Perez, 2003).

The original presentation of the Multicultural Counseling Competencies was published in a counseling psychology journal in the early 1980s (i.e., Sue et al., 1982). Ten years later, under the leadership of Thomas A. Parham, then- president of the Association for Counseling and Multicultural Development, the second iteration of the Multicultural Coun- seling Competencies was presented (i.e., Sue et al., 1992). In 1996, Arredondo et al. issued a framework that operationalized the revised version of the Multicultural Counseling Competen- cies. In 1998, Sue et al. added two competencies related to organizational multicultural competence. Previous delineations of the Multicultural Counseling Competencies served as the backbone of the recent “Guidelines on Multicultural Educa- tion, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists” (APA, 2003), which was endorsed by the APA Council of Representatives in August 2002. Thus, the broader field of psychology was challenged to adhere to these aspirational guidelines to promote multicultural competence in various dimensions of professional practice (e.g., service delivery, research, and training).

The Multicultural Counseling Competencies (Sue et al., 1992) were developed as an independent social justice movement devoted to increasing the relevance of mental health practice, research, and training to diverse populations (Arredondo & Perez, 2003). However, most of the existing

literature related to the Multicultural Competencies reflects attention to issues of social justice at a microlevel (e.g., individual counseling and small-group interventions). Such interventions, however, are generally limited in their ability to foster broader social change and, consequently, to bring about true social justice (Helms, 2003). Fairly recent writings (e.g., Blustein, Elman, & Gerstein, 2001; Eriksen, 1999; Fox, 2003; Jackson, 2000; Lee, 1997; Prilleltensky & Prilleltensky, 2003; Vera & Speight, 2003) have called for increasing numbers of counselors and counseling psychologists to engage in profes- sional roles that attend more fully to social and contextual forces that affect people’s mental health and well-being. As such, in conducting social justice work, some of these mental health professionals have adopted roles that have taken them beyond their offices to settings such as community centers, churches, school systems, and even legislative bodies for the purpose of facilitating systemic changes in response to social injustices (Hage, 2003; Kiselica & Robinson, 2001; Thompson, Murry, Harris, & Annan, 2003). In addition, coun- selors and counseling psychologists have been encouraged to assume preventive mental health roles (e.g., Hage, 2003; Romano & Hage, 2000) as extensions of social justice and multicultural agendas.

In our clinical and research work in the areas of multicul- tural competence and social justice, we have identified nine specific social justice competencies that we believe are impor- tant for counselors and counseling psychologists to consider as they work with increasingly diverse cultural populations in the United States. These competencies are as follows:

1. Become knowledgeable about the various ways op- pression and social inequities can be manifested at the individual, cultural, and societal levels, along with the ways such inequities might be experienced by various individuals, groups, organizations, and macrosystems.

2. Participate in ongoing critical reflection on issues of race, ethnicity, oppression, power, and privilege in your own life.

3. Maintain an ongoing awareness of how your own positions of power or privilege might inadvertently replicate experiences of injustice and oppression in in- teracting with stakeholding groups (e.g., clients, com- munity organizations, and research participants).

4. Question and challenge therapeutic or other interven- tion practices that appear inappropriate or exploitative and intervene preemptively, or as early as feasible, to promote the positive well-being of individuals or groups who might be affected.

5. Possess knowledge about indigenous models of health and healing and actively collaborate with such entities, when appropriate, in order to conceptualize and imple- ment culturally relevant and holistic interventions.

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Constantine, Hage, Kindaichi, & Bryant

6. Cultivate an ongoing awareness of the various types of social injustices that occur within international contexts; such injustices frequently have global implications.

7. Conceptualize, implement, and evaluate comprehen- sive preventive and remedial mental health interven- tion programs that are aimed at addressing the needs of marginalized populations.

8. Collaborate with community organizations in democratic partnerships to promote trust, minimize perceived power differentials, and provide culturally relevant services to identified groups.

9. Develop system intervention and advocacy skills to promote social change processes within institutional settings, neighborhoods, and communities.

Social Justice Issues and Counseling Practice