Integrating social justice and advocacy into training psychologists: A practical demonstration.

Abstract

Training psychologists to engage in advocacy and social justice is critical to professional development. Scholars recommend a variety of methods to accomplish this training. One approach is to offer goal-driven instruction that aligns with a clear mission, a safe and supportive environment for constructive dialogue, and the opportunity to engage in experiential learning. Experiential learning opportunities may be most impactful if structured as a longitudinal process; however, few practical training examples exist to demonstrate such a procedure. The purpose of this article is to offer a structured, longitudinal training demonstration of psychology doctoral trainees engaged in social justice and advocacy work at a midsize, diverse urban public university. This multiyear effort included (a) a comprehensive needs assessment; (b) qualitative interviews and focus groups with students and staff; and (c) supporting the development and coordination of care at a campus center to address student housing instability, food insecurity, and other critical needs. Implications of this work on advocacy in public service settings are described.

A New Model for Social Justice Supervision

“…Facilitating this self-awareness, White et al's (2019) description of intergroup dialogue highlighted some critical stepping-stones in the practice of social justice in supervision. The supervisor would engage in discussions focused on differences in lived experiences between minority and nonminority group members, raising social consciousness, and examining power dynamics and individual roles in systemic inequity, including self-awareness (Pearrow & Fallon, 2019) and examination of experiences with privilege and oppression (White et al, 2019). Participants engaging in intergroup dialogue demonstrated increased cultural awareness, which facilitated the development of an ally identity (White et al, 2019).…”

Introduction to the special issue: Advocacy in public service settings.

“…Pearrow and Fallon (2020) offer a structured, experiential framework for social justice advocacy training in accord with published recommendations and designed to overcome the barriers inherent in commonly used training models. Central to their approach is the view that the advocacy competency is best developed through a continual improvement process that must begin during doctoral training.…”

Advocacy as a professional competency in psychology.

“…Social justice and liberation work may include activism that dismantles established oppressive systems, whereas advocacy actions may function within the established system. These concepts of advocacy and social justice, therefore, are not identical, although sometimes are used interchangeably or are combined in the psychological literature (e.g., Council of Chairs of Training Councils, 2020; Mallinckrodt et al, 2014; Pearrow & Fallon, 2020). Such conflation can lead to difficulties in training and assessing competence in each domain.…”

“…While many of the earlier neglected elements have now received necessary consideration (e.g., supervision, consultation), less attention has been devoted to advocacy and policy as formal competency components. Despite limited articulation of advocacy and public policy work as measurable competencies, some relevant examples of training experiences in these domains have been described (e.g., Lyons et al, 2015; Mallinckrodt et al, 2014; Pearrow & Fallon, 2020; Weber et al, 2020).…”