Teaching Social Justice
Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes PhD, LPC-MHSP, LMHC
Executive Director, AllCEUs
Podcast Host: Counselor Toolbox and Happiness Isn’t Brain Surgery
Objectives
~ Define social justice
~ Explore the goals of social justice education to include
~ Identity
~ Diversity
~ Justice
~ Action
Define Social Justice
~ The National Association of Social Workers defines social justice as “the view that everyone deserves equal economic, political and social rights and opportunities.”
Why Is Social Justice Important in Counseling
~ In what ways can a social justice education assist clients…
~ Emotionally
~ Cognitively
~ Socially
~ Occupationally
~ Physically
Why Is Social Justice Important in Counseling
~ In what ways can a social justice education assist counselors
~ Identify community needs and strengths
~ Help clients tap into appropriate resources
~ Connect with and better understand clients
Social Justice
~ Discrimination and bias contribute to
~ Emotional: Stress
~ Cognitive: Low elf esteem and self-efficacy, creation of erroneous biases,
~ Interpersonal: Conflict
~ Occupational/Environmental: Reduced access to opportunities and services and a reduction in
What is the Impact
~ Women are bad at math
~ During the last 30 years, the gaps in these scores have dropped dramatically in the U.S. In some nations (like Indonesia and Iceland), women outperform men in the tip-top of mathematical performance.
~ Stereotype susceptibility Asian-American women who were reminded of their Asian identities their math performance improved, while reminders of their femininity had the opposite effect.
~ People with mental illness are dangerous
~ – “…the vast majority of people who are violent do not suffer from mental illnesses (American Psychiatric Association, 1994).“
~ only 3 to 5 percent of violent acts can be attributed to serious mental illness. (mentalhealth.gov)
What is the Impact
~ People with mental illness are bad employees
~ Many are medicated and asymptomatic
~ About 18% of workers in the U.S. report having a mental health condition in any given month. (The NSDUH Report https://www.samhsa.gov/data/population-data-nsduh. The ADA National Network https://adata.org/factsheet/health)
~ Criminals are bad people
~ All people with addictions are criminals
Goals for Social Justice Education
Identity
~ Students will develop positive social identities based on their membership in multiple groups in society.
~ Students will develop language and historical and cultural knowledge that affirm and accurately describe their membership in multiple identity groups.
~ Students will recognize that people’s multiple identities interact and create unique and complex individuals.
~ Students will express pride, confidence and healthy self-esteem without denying the value and dignity of other people.
~ Students will recognize traits of the dominant culture, their home culture and other cultures and understand how they negotiate their own identity in multiple spaces.
What is your identity
~ Take 5 minutes and complete the sentence “I am a _______________” as many times as needed to define who you are.
~ I am a mother, daughter, teacher, business owner, friend, college graduate, farmer, advocate for animal welfare, runner, white, female, Christian, middle class…
~ What does it mean to be a part of each of those groups?
~ Which identities interact (i.e. animal welfare and farmer; business owner and mother)?
~ How does each of my identities impact my interactions with others and the world?
~ How does each of these identities impact my work with clients?
Example:
~ As part of a class project, R