Question

Advocacy Competency Domains Introduction As a counselor, you will sometimes be in the role of advocate. An advocate is someone who acts on behalf of someone else, or who empowers someone to become a self-advocate Advocates can act on behalf of individual clients. They can also advocate for issues within an organization, and sometimes for issues within the public arena. Advocates often engage with social and political issues. This may be surprising, because most people are drawn to counseling because they want to help individuals. However, it’s important to understand that individuals are affected in powerful ways by social, political, economic, and cultural factors. Members of marginalized groups sometimes are oppressed in both overt and implicit ways. Counselors need to understand societal factors in order to effectively advocate for individuals. Different kinds of advocacy are appropriate for different situations. Read on to see some different ways that a counselor might choose to advocate for a client. Advocacy Competency Domains Chart The Advocacy Competency Domains chart shows ways that a counselor might advocate for a client. There are three broad domains in this advocacy competency chart: client/student, school/community, and public arena. The diagram is divided into two rows: The top row represents how counselors can work with an individual or group to makes changes. The second row represents how professional counselors act on behalf of clients to deal with the various barriers they are facing. Whether acting with or acting on behalf, the impact may be at the micro or macro level (Erford, 2014). Client/Student School/Community Public Arena Client/Student Empowerment Community Collaboration Public Information Client/Student Advocacy Systems Advocacy Social/Political Advocacy Let’s see how this chart applies to a specific client. Applications This is Jasmine, a 23-year-old graduate student. Jasmine feels pressure to excel in her program, especially because she is the only African American student. Jasmine has always been unhappy with her body. She compares herself unfavorably against her Caucasian mother, a former professional dancer who is petite and blonde. This past year, Jasmine has lost a good deal of weight, and her body mass index is approaching the official categorization for anorexia. She has heard from various people throughout her life that “black girls don’t get eating disorders.” When she recently met with an elderly male counselor at her college, he was skeptical that an African American woman could be anorexic. Jasmine is confused—and scared because she’s been feeling faint and is having trouble concentrating on her studies. This is Stacey, Jasmine’s counselor. Stacey wants to be an advocate for Jasmine. Here are some possible ways she can do this. Client/Student Empowerment The Client/Student Empowerment level is about helping clients to contextualize their situations within a societal context and empowering clients to self-advocate. If Stacey were to choose this level of advocacy, she would begin by discussing with Jasmine how gender roles and racial issues have affected her negative self-image. Then she would help Jasmine come up with an action plan to address her eating disorder and her negative self-talk. She would work with Jasmine to find appropriate resources. Client/Student Advocacy The Client/Student Advocacy level involves counselors acting on behalf of clients to negotiate issues related to societal factors. If Stacey were to choose this level of advocacy, she would begin by discussing with Jasmine how gender roles, racial issues, and other issues related to social systems have impacted her negative self-image. Additional discussion regarding her social systems would be important as well, including discussions about her family and her academic self-expectations. Then she would help Jasmine come up with an action plan to address her eating disorder and her negative self-talk. She would work with Jasmine to find appropriate resources. Community Collaboration The Community Collaboration level involves working with others in a community to make changes that positively impact clients. If Stacey were to choose this level of advocacy, she might locate groups on Jasmine’s campus that are working to promote change related to eating disorders and form alliances with these groups. She would share her knowledge with these groups, including her understanding of the special needs of women of color with eating disorders. Systems Advocacy The Systems Advocacy level is about understanding and smaller systems (like families) and larger systems (like communities) work—and about advocating for change within these communities. If Stacey were to choose this level of advocacy, she might work with the university counseling department to identify gaps in their ability to help students with eating disorders. She might help them develop a step-by-step plan to improve their treatment. In addition, she might involve Jasmine’s family in her treatment as a way to better understand the situation. Public Information The Public Information level involves distributing information and building awareness about issues across disciplines and settings. If Stacey were to choose this level of advocacy, she might give a presentation on Jasmine’s campus about women of color, body image, and eating disorders. She might also write an editorial for a local paper about these issues or start a blog. Social/Political Advocacy The Social/Political advocacy level involves advocating for public policy or possible legislative change. If Stacey were to choose this level of advocacy, she might join a national women’s organization and get involved with an organizational committee that addresses eating disorders. As a member of this national organization, Stacey might petition the Department of Education to get more actively engaged in the issue of women of color and eating disorders. As you can see, there are many different ways that a counselor can choose to be an advocate. Keep these methods of advocacy in mind as you develop your own sense of who you want to be as a counselor, and think about the ways that you might see yourself acting as an advocate.

Discussion

A senior adult client presents at your counseling center with symptoms of depression. Your counseling center has close ties with a senior housing center in your community; a social worker employed at the senior center referred the client to you. The client recently experienced a family rejection after revealing a previously undisclosed relationship with someone from a group not accepted by the family, and has become increasingly despondent. The client indicates a willingness to try counseling but also expresses a desire for you to prescribe "some pills for depression." The client remembers being previously prescribed medications by a physician, but cannot remember what they were. Your client would also like to find part-time work in order to feel more worthwhile and to have a place to go during the day. However, your client feels hopeless about being able to do so due to transportation and ageism issues.

Answer the following questions in your analysis:

1) What local-, state-, and national-level policies may impede or enhance your clients' adjustment and access to mental health care?

2) What strategies can you utilize in your work to advocate for your client in this case?

Answer 1

1) What local-, state-, and national-level policies may impede or enhance your clients' adjustment and access to mental health care?

The Social Works department must take forward this kind of cases. I can ont work along with that department. Or else, it  might impede access, equity, or success for my client in this case. The Social Works department must collaborate with the mental health doctors, the client's family members, and other reated people to find a reliable solution to this issue.

2) What strategies can you utilize in your work to advocate for your client in this case?

Initiate, negotiate and implement relevant strategies for addressing client needs

Once the client has decided what options they would like to take in relation to an issue, the next step is to develop strategies to address their issues and develop a plan of action.

Depending on the issue there may only be one action. For example if a client felt a worker was rude to them, the only action may be that the client has decided to tell them how they feel and ask for an apology.

However if the issue is significant, it may need to have a series of actions and strategies to address the issue. Supporting a client with an issue may also require you to be responsible for implementing some of the strategies.

Assess your ability to assist the client

Before negotiating the strategies to assist the client in addressing their needs, you will need to assess your ability to assist. Do you have the time, knowledge, experience or the expertise to be able to afford the right level of assistance to the client? Do you know where to get information or are you aware of the different strategies that are available for the client? If you feel you do not have the ability to assist then you have a responsibility to help the client find a person who can help, either within the organisation or externally.

There may be organisational policies that restrict your involvement in working with a client. For example, a client may have a legitimate need to visit a massage therapist, however your organisation may have a policy that prevents workers from giving any assistance in that area.

Alternatively you may not have the resources to spend a few weeks assisting the client in negotiation meetings, so you would need to find alternative resources.

Developing preferred outcomes

Before developing a plan of action you will need to list the preferred outcomes. A preferred outcome could be a change to something, a new procedure, wanting things done differently, improvements or even just the opportunity for the client to be heard.

Remember that outcomes should be steered towards positive results and social justice. Social justice is based on equity and fairness for all people. This means that when you are supporting a client with an advocacy issue, the strategies implemented to support the client in addressing their needs should not disadvantage other people or result in an unfair situation. This may not always be possible, however advocacy and social justice share a common goal to advance people’s rights.

After listing the preferred outcomes you will need to discuss with the client how they think the outcomes could be achieved. List what needs to happen to achieve the outcomes as well as who is doing what and by when.

There are many different formats used to document an action plan. Most action plans will have at least the following headings:

• Outcome—What is to be achieved?
• Strategy or action—What has to happen to achieve the outcome?
• Resources—What resources are needed to be able to implement the strategy or action?
• Who—Who is responsible for implementing the strategy or action?
• Timeframe—Dates and times the strategy or action will be done by.
• Review—A date and time each strategy or action will be reviewed, who by, and where this will take place.

After developing the action plan with the client it is important to recap what has been decided to ensure they agree to the plan and understand their responsibilities. If other people have been identified as responsible for parts of the action plan you or the client will have to negotiate with them.