Advocacy and Prevention

Abstract

The impact of environmental factors on psychological functioning has received much attention in the psychological literature and has expanded the scholarship on mental heath beyond individual-level variables and intrapsychic processes. The current chapter therefore reviews the role of societal oppression on the psychological functioning of individuals from historically marginalized groups. In addition the chapter frames prevention as an important social justice tool that can be used in order to facilitate the well-being of individuals and groups who continue to experience oppression based on such factors as race, sexual orientation, and gender. The chapter concludes by providing a case illustration of social justice–based prevention as it applies to antiracism advocacy.

Critical consciousness of anti-Black racism: A practical model to prevent and resist racial trauma.

“…There are countless studies that make plain the prevalence and deleterious impact of racism (Carter, 2007; Pieterse, Hanus, & Gale, 2012), consistent with findings in the Witnessing ABR category. Further, the CCABR model also suggests that Bearing Witness to ABR and Experiencing Racial Trauma has utility in that, when it is followed by the steps delineated in Processing ABR, it can facilitate coping, healing, and system-focused liberatory action.…”

“…Counseling psychology history, identity, and ethics suggest that counseling psychologists have been, are, and will be essential in the process of liberation for POCI (Packard, 2009; Pieterse, Hanus, & Gale, 2012; Vera & Speight, 2003; Watts, 2004). Liberation is “the process of resisting oppressive forces and striving toward psychological and political well-being” (Prilleltensky, 2003, p. 195).…”