Domain III: Embrace Cultural Responsivity and Social Justice as a Foundation for Professional Identity

The first two domains of the CRSJ counselling model painted a context in which cultural identities and relationalities, as well as client–counsellor social locations, potentially impact each element of the counselling process. In this third domain, the CRSJ counselling model (Collins, 2018) diverges from some earlier models by inviting learners to move beyond aspirational goals to active commitment to culturally responsive and socially just practice. This involves rethinking professional identity at individual, organizational, and disciplinary levels. The competencies in this domain highlight the values-based positioning of the CRSJ counselling model and introduce important principles and practices that support personal and professional engagement in the active pursuit of social justice both in the moment-by-moment interactions with individual clients and in the ways in which we position ourselves to support and effect broader social change. It is important to cast a critical lens on the professions of counselling and psychology at the metatheoretical and theoretical levels to support the evolution of the professions towards a collective anti-oppressive and socially just professional identity.

The chapters in this section of the teaching and learning guide provide learning activities related to the two core competencies (CC) in this domain.