Developing the Fearless School Counselor Ally and Advocate for LGBTQIQ Youth: Strategies for Preparation Programs

Abstract

To better serve the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and questioning (LGBTQIQ) youth population, counselor educators can assist school counselors-in-training in developing advocacy competencies within their training programs. A focus on advocacy competencies outlined by the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) standards, and infusion of techniques throughout the education process, may increase levels of comfort for neophyte school counselors-in-training when working withLGBTQIQ youth. To increase efficacy in this multicultural population, myriad environments representative of the systemic nature of the school environment and culture must be examined and explored through training processes. These authors discuss intervention strategies for counselor educators to develop future school counselor advocacy, which align with the ACA advocacy competency domain areas.

The Past Guides the Future: Implementing the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies

“…Despite the limitations of the 2003 ACA Advocacy Competencies and the 2018 update, these competencies have had a tremendous influence on the counseling field. Between 2004 and 2016, more than 280 articles using the ACA Advocacy Competencies were published (Storlie, Woo, Fink, & Fowler, 2019) describing training models and research that applied the competencies around issues facing various communities (i.e., advocacy with queer and trans clients [e.g., Beck, Rausch, & Wood, 2014]), intimate partner violence (e.g., Murray & Crowe, 2016), counselor advocacy identity development (e.g., Beer, Spanierman, Greene, & Todd, 2012), and counselor training advocacy needs (e.g., Singh, Urbano, Hasten, & McMahan, 2011). Beyond the research exploring application of the ACA Advocacy Competencies, there is a growing body of literature focused on advocacy itself in counseling.…”

Understanding the factors that influence school counselor advocacy for LGBTQ students

“…School counselors might be blind to the heteronormativity that is perpetuated by typical school systems, which can inhibit a safe environment for LGBTQ youth (Smith, 2013). In other systems, school counselors may refrain from challenging heteronormative systems because they fear retaliation by school/district leaders or community members (Beck, Rausch, Wood, 2014;Bemak & Chung, 2008;Mason, Springer, Pugliese, 2017). The ASCA National Model (2012) does not include specific language to empower school counselors to challenge heterosexism and institutional heteronormativity, but it does call for school counselors to be advocates and remove systemic barriers.…”

“…Conceptual literature addresses how this collaborative alliance between school counselors and principals can positively impact the experiences of LGBTQ youth (Beck et al, 2014;Beck, 2017;Gonzalez & McNulty, 2010, Goodrich et al, 2013), yet there is limited quantitative research that addresses how this alliance can influence school counselor intervention and advocacy for this specific population. To better understand how school counselors perceive their own advocacy behaviors and the rate to which they engage in advocacy activity on behalf of and with LGBTQ youth, studies exploring how the school counselor-principal alliance influences the counselor's ability to intervene and engage in advocacy activity are needed.…”

Relationship between experiences of adverse childhood events and intimate partner violence in adult same sex monogamous relationships

“…Clients may not wish to identify, and counseling students should be aware of this. Helping students understand their own beliefs and values is an important part of self-awareness and self-efficacy when working with this population (Beck, Rausch, & Wood, 2014). This effort can be modeled through a department value of obtaining personal counseling as a counseling student, supervision, and classroom lessons (Beck, Rausch, & Wood, 2014).…”

“…Helping students understand their own beliefs and values is an important part of self-awareness and self-efficacy when working with this population (Beck, Rausch, & Wood, 2014). This effort can be modeled through a department value of obtaining personal counseling as a counseling student, supervision, and classroom lessons (Beck, Rausch, & Wood, 2014). For counselors who identify as an LGBT ally, it is important to competent practice to discuss with clients their level of awareness without being afraid to bring up areas with which they are unfamiliar.…”