Applying Social Justice to Oppression and Marginalization in Group Process: Interventions and Strategies for Group Counselors

Six Considerations for Social Justice Group Work

“…Some explicitly stated the centrality of multicultural competence. For example, Burnes and Ross (2010) noted that social justice is rooted in multicultural competence. Next Decade authors Arredondo and Toporek (Hays et al, 2010) not only stressed the centrality of multicultural competency but also saw the need for group leaders to expand their cultural competence to embrace community and organizational intervention.…”

“…For example, Burnes and Ross (2010) provided interventions and strategies for noticing oppression and marginalization that occur within groups and for addressing these occurrences when they happen. Similarly, Newton (2010=this issue) focused on a single source of oppression-social class and classismand provided information to increase leader awareness of these forces and knowledge and resources to enable leaders to address these forces with group members.…”

“…Further, social justice-oriented leaders help group members unpack the knapsack and examine its contents according to members' level of readiness. Burnes and Ross (2010) suggested specific questions to initiate dialogue about issues of privilege and oppression: '' 'How do you think we often marginalize each other in our space together'? 'Who do you believe has power in our group today?'…”

Understanding How Family Science Interns Conceptualize Social Justice

“…Internship site supervisors may want to consider using a blend of formal and informal assessments to gauge each intern's skill level and prior knowledge of social justice education and advocacy. Burnes and Ross (2010) suggest five guiding principles to help ground prevention and outreach efforts in social justice. In collaboration with the field site supervisors, the interns should be prepared to (i) identify social justice issues that affect the target population; (ii) conduct an examination of existing research to ensure best and ethical practices; (iii) meet with stakeholders to determine needs of the group; (iv) prepare workshops based on the needs of the target group; and (v) establish an evaluation format to ensure the appropriate follow-up.…”

Social justice competencies for counselling and psychotherapy: Perceptions of experienced practitioners and implications for contemporary practice

“…For example, essential days and celebrations for non‐Christians are not reflected in North American holiday calendars. In order to challenge “cultural norms that create marginalization” (Arthur, , p.51), one may be called to look into established professional practices (Burnes & Ross, ; Motulsky et al, ) or challenge restrictive agency procedures to promote change to be more responsive to client needs (Crucil, ).…”