Social justice advocacy in mental health services: Consumer, community, training, and policy perspectives.

Abstract

This article addresses important aspects of and strategies for social justice advocacy in mental health care across consumer, community, educational, and policy domains. Social justice advocacy is intentional and sustained action intended to influence public policy outcomes, with and/or on behalf of a vulnerable individual, group, community, or the public at large. The paper presents a series of policy and advocacy levels of change, which may be used to promote social justice among individuals with mental health disorders with an emphasis on how psychologists can be valuable in these efforts. These social justice advocacy approaches are presented in a 3-level bio/socioecological framework at the micro, meso, and macro levels based on Bronfenbrenner's theoretical model.

Understanding help‐seeking in rural counties: A serial mediation analysis

“…According to the American Psychological Association ( 2003), psychologists have a duty to serve as agents of social justice for vulnerable communities. Social justice advocacy concerning mental health service utilization in the rural South can take place at the macro (public policy), meso (education, training, and community outreach), and micro (individual mental health consumers) levels (Bronfenbrenner, 1979;Marshall-Lee et al, 2020). At the macro level, psychologists may influence policy by raising awareness concerning how both self-reliance and stigma may contribute to negative attitudes toward help-seeking.…”

Social Justice Practicum in Non-clinical Online Programs: Engagement Strategies and Lessons Learned

“…Aspects of social justice have long been included in the curricula of clinical training programs. Particularly in the case of social work (Quinn, El Ghaziri, & Knight, 2019;Pawar, 2019) and counseling (Marshall-Lee et al, 2020;Melamed, Casado-Pérez, & Hunt, 2020), society has long been aware of the importance of social responsibility among professionals. Clinicians who value the principles of social justice will be better able to serve their communities due in part to an increased level of self-awareness (Marshall-Lee et al, 2020;Melamed, Casado-Pérez, & Hunt, 2020) and less prone to violate ethical mandates by providing inequitable care for their clients.…”

“…Practicum can be defined as hands-on experience (Grant-Smith, de Zwaan, Chapman, & Gillett-Swan, 2018; Sanabria, & DeLorenzi, 2019). The concept has historically been utilized in such fields as counseling (Marshall-Lee ET AL., 2020;Melamed, Casado-Pérez, & Hunt, 2020) and teaching (Alghamdi, 2022;Ersin, Atay, & Mede, 2020) to allow students to practice the skills about which they have learned in the classroom in the real world. Practicum is consistent with best practices of adult learning theory (Abedini, Abedin, & Zowghi, 2021;Kuk, & Holst, 2018) in that is allows students to engage in activities with realworld relevance and, as such, it is undoubtedly a beneficial strategy for inclusion in a graduate program.…”

Preventing homelessness: Exploring the role of clinical psychology in adult mental health services

“…Therefore, it is important for CPs to seek representatives from these communities to provide an insight into needs which can assist and inform clinicians in the development of interventions (Marshall-Lee et. al., 2020).…”