Social Justice Advocacy in Rural Communities

Abstract

The professional literature related to social justice has increased, but there has been little discussion of the practical issues and implications associated with social advocacy. However, adding new roles will result in new considerations for counseling psychologists. The need to be attuned to how the practical aspects of advocacy intersect with the context of psychological work may be especially present in rural areas where practitioners may be more involved in the community and thus their actions highly visible. Because the data indicate that rural communities may have few resources, a limited number of mental health professionals, and higher rates of mental illness, psychologists practicing in these areas may feel compelled to engage in advocacy. Yet there is little practical guidance for these psychologists. Therefore, the authors present considerations for social justice advocacy in rural areas, using the American Counseling Association advocacy competencies as an organizing framework.

A qualitative study of rural mental health practitioners regarding the potential professional consequences of social justice advocacy.

“…These community-based resources are often beneficial to residents when they face significant challenges associated with living in a rural area. However, family ties coupled with a strong sense of self-reliance among rural individuals may be a barrier that prevents outsiders from gaining the trust of rural community members, especially if the outsiders are perceived to hold a different set of values from the residents of the area (Bradley, Werth, & Hastings, in press; Knapp & VandeCreek, 2007; Schank, 1994; Schank & Skovholt, 2006). This can be a concern for psychologists and other mental health professionals who may have a different belief system from the majority of community members.…”

Psychometric Characteristics of the Social Justice Scale's Turkish Form and A Structural Equation Modeling

“…Correspondingly, Torres-Harding, Siers, and Olson (2012) underline the fact that the relationship between attitudes and actions requires more applied research. Therefore, though not sufficient for now, it can be stated that in the literature there is an increasing tendency concerning implementation of the notion of social justice in studies (Bradley et al, 2012).…”

“…It can be stated that educators who are supposed to keep a balance of equality and justice among their students cannot sometimes hold the balance and give adequate support to all their students. As Bradley, Werth, and Hastings (2012) specified, the means of providing such a balance of equality and justice for all the classes in a society have been argued by different philosophers from Aristotle and Socrates to contemporary activists such as Freire and Beauvoir on a large scale. In the very essence of these arguments, there lies the interaction between education and society.…”

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

“…An increasing amount of attention has been paid to the integration of social justice into psychology training over the last 20 years (e.g., Bradley, Werth, & Hastings, 2012; Motulsky, Gere, Saleem, & Trantham, 2014). This may be due in part to competency guidelines set by the American Psychological Association (APA; 2012), which indicate that psychologists should be trained to safeguard others’ welfare and promote systems change that targets the impact of social, political, economic or cultural factors.…”