Domain II: Challenge Social Injustices, and Critique Their Impact on Client–Counsellor Social Locations
CC4 Social Injustice
Attend actively to social determinants of health, and evaluate the impact of social injustices on client health and well-being.
Recommended Reading
Collins, S. (2018). The impact of social injustice: Client–counsellor social locations. In S. Collins (Ed.), Embracing cultural responsivity and social justice: Re-shaping professional identity in counselling psychology (pp. 179–209). Counselling Concepts. https://counsellingconcepts.ca/
The fourth core competency in the CRSJ counselling model (Collins, 2018) places culture and cultural identities of both counsellor and client within the context of their lives, paying particular attention to the ways in which each individual in the counsellor–client relationship may be negatively impacted by various forms of cultural oppression. Systemic injustices and inequities, often conceptualized in terms of social determinants of health (Commission on Social Determinants of Health, 2008; McNair, 2017), are foundational to understanding client presenting concerns (Arthur & Collins, 2016; Fellner et al., 2016). This shift away from an individualistic to a systemic lens is evident in feminist, narrative, multicultural, and social justice approaches to counselling (Brown, 2010; Jean Baker Miller Training Institute, 2017; Sterling et al., 2017). It is critical for learners to recognize the impact of various *isms on client health and well-being and to assess actively experiences of cultural, institutional, and systemic oppression. In colonial nations, many people still struggle to embrace the truth of ongoing processes of colonization and the intergenerational effects of colonial violence (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2015). I recognize the importance, from my own personal and professional experience, for learners to actively wrestle with their positioning within the colonial relationship (Collins & Arthur, 2018; Fellner et al., 2016).
CRSJ Counselling Key Concepts
The activities in this chapter are designed to support competency development related to the key concepts listed below. Click on the concepts in the table and you will be taken to the related activities, exercises, learning resources, or discussion prompts.
Colonization & Colonial Violence
One of the most profound examples of othering and cultural oppression occurred through the process of colonization, whereby colonial/settler populations used force to take the lands of Indigenous peoples throughout the world, and then began a process of cultural genocide and forced assimilation that continues to have dramatic effects on the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples to this day. Canadians are currently being invited into a process of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples that begins by acknowledging the truth of their lived experiences as individuals and peoples.
Watch one or two of the following short documentaries to get a sense of the residential school system, which was a colonialist tool for the forced eradication of Indigenous language, culture, and spirituality; and of the 60s scoop, in which Indigenous children were apprehended and placed in non-Indigenous foster homes.
© CBC News, The National (2015, June 2)
© Historica Canada (2016, June 20)
© CBC News: The National (2016, October 18)
© CBC News: The National (2016, August 23)
Reflect on your own understanding of the short and long-term effects of colonialism. Consider the immense challenge of surviving colonization and colonial violence and on-going oppression for individuals and communities who have experienced these. Connect these experiences with hypothetical presenting concerns of Indigenous clients, and consider the implications for conceptualizing current problems and envisioning change processes.
[Permanent link: https://crsjguide.pressbooks.com/chapter/cc4/#grapplingwithtruth]
Colonial Relationship
Every individual, Indigenous or non-Indigenous, living within traditional territories of Indigenous peoples in Canada or in other colonized nations is, by default, part of a colonial relationship. It is important for counsellors to grapple with the historical and current implications of their positioning within this relationship. The following process aims primarily at non-Indigenous practitioners; however, Indigenous practitioners may also gain new knowledge.
- To begin this process, use the First Nation Profiles Interactive Map to investigate on whose traditional lands you live and work. Zoom in; use the “i” on the map to access specific information; then access the Community Website links for First Nations or Inuit community sites. [Note. This Government of Canada site does not have interactive maps for Inuit Nunangat or Métis Nations; however, you may want to peruse additional resources on this page.]
- Next, compare what you learn on the government site to the Native Land Digital map or the First Peoples of Canada interactive map. Use the information you find as a starting place to search for more details about local treaties, forced migration to reserve lands, and current land disputes.
- In my own search, I came across this cartoon from the Victoria Daily Times paper, which depicts the colonialist successful efforts to displace the Songhees nation from the reserve lands on the Victoria harbour. Both the message and the way in which is conveyed gave me a deeper appreciation for my own positioning on this land.
If you are a non-Indigenous practitioner, thoughtfully consider the ways in which you continue to benefit from the legacy of colonization and colonial violence? Consider the implications of your discovers for position within the colonial relationship with Indigenous peoples locally and nationally.
[Permanent link: https://crsjguide.pressbooks.com/chapter/cc4/#lossofland]
Search for the term reconciliation in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015) Summary Report. Write a 2‒3 paragraph critical reflection on what reconciliation for the professions of counselling and psychology might look like. Be sure to reflect critically on the dominant discourses that have, and continue to, contribute to psycholonization (those processes of colonization that are enacted, often unknowingly and unintentionally, through counselling and psychology theories and practices).
Next, view the short video, provided by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, What is Reconciliation?
© TRC – CVR (n.d.)
Engage in a dialogue about what reconciliation might apply to the theories and practices of counselling. Be as specific as possible, and consider the microlevel (individual practitioner), mesolevel (counselling organizations), and macrolevel (professions of counselling and psychology). How might the principle of reconciliation be applied to counselling psychology to move the profession beyond its own legacy of culturally oppressive worldviews and practices? Work together to build a picture of the future profession that is both realistic and optimistic. Take into account the ways in which colonization has played out within the professions, the colonial relationship in which both Indigenous and non-Indigenous practitioners are embedded, and the specific Calls to Action of the TRCC (see the Health section on p. 2).
[Permanent link: https://crsjguide.pressbooks.com/chapter/cc4/#envisioningreconciliation]
Cultural/Systemic Oppression
Watch the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (2016) video Being Black in Canada and consider the following questions for reflection.
- What do you know about the history of Black peoples in Canada? What meaning do you make of your cultural awareness or lack of awareness?
- Analyze critically the ways in which both acts of commission (racism and discrimination) and acts of omission (lack of recognition of achievements and contributions), both historical and current, shape our views of others and their views of themselves.
- Brainstorm in a small group of peers or colleagues how this historical legacy of cultural oppression may continue to be carried forward into counselling theory and practice? Pay particular attention to acts of omission, identifying as many as you can.
[Permanent link: https://crsjguide.pressbooks.com/chapter/cc4/#actsofcommission]
Watch this Ted Talk by the Hon. Ahmed Hussen who entered Canada a child refugee and later became the Minister of Immigration and Refugees.
© TEDx Talks (2017, November 27)
Take a moment to put yourself in his shoes and reflect on the questions he poses related to systemic cultural oppression:
- Imagine walking on the street and having a parent pulling their child closer, because you are walking by.
- Imagine being followed in a grocery store, because of the colour of your skin.
- Imagine being pulled over by police constantly, because of the colour of your skin.
Consider your own privilege or marginalization based on ethnicity. How do you reconcile the two Canadas described in this video? What are your personal and professional responsibilities to address cultural or systemic oppressions? Hon. Ahmed Hussen argues that having uncomfortable conversations about race and privilege is essential for the growth of Canada as a whole. What is the role of these difficult conversations in the advancement of the professions of counselling and psychology? Share one barrier that you might need to overcome to talk openly about race and racism, and support your peers to reflect critically on the barriers they experience.
[Permanent link: https://crsjguide.pressbooks.com/chapter/cc4/#whichcanada]
Discrimination
Check out this Timeline of Human Rights Development in Canada and this Moments in Time history of advances and setbacks in human rights in Canada. Take yourself back in time by selecting a period in Canadian history and consider the evolution of human rights over time. Identify one examples of legalized discrimination based on cultural identity, and place yourself in that person or people’s shoes to imagine what it would have been like to be denied these basic human rights.
Do you think legalized discrimination still exists in Canada? Try to come up with some examples. What is our responsibility as individual counsellors, and as a profession, to advocate or otherwise engage in systems changes to shape Canadian law in ways that foster social justice?
[Permanent link: https://crsjguide.pressbooks.com/chapter/cc4/#legalizeddiscrimination]
Institutional/Organizational Oppression
Enacting human rights in organizational contexts (Self-study)
As counsellors and psychologists, we are responsible for our own beliefs, values, ways of being, and counselling practices; however, we are embedded within schools, agencies, organizations, governments, and other environments in which individuals may not have been exposed to the same level of consciousness-raising related to culture and social justice. Reflect on the organizations to which you belong for school, work, family, and leisure activities. Attend to the perhaps overt, but more likely subtle, ways in which particular persons or peoples are marginalized or oppressed within these institutions, attending to acts of both commission and omission.
In 2014 there was a change in human rights legislation in Canada to protect gender identity and gender expression. Since then organizations have attempting to figure out how to enact policies and practices that are in keeping with the spirit, as well as the letter, of the law. Review the brochure on Gender identity and gender expression from the Ontario Human Rights Commission, and consider the following questions.
- What changes have you noticed over the past decade since this legislation came into being?
- What do you see as your responsibility, personally and professionally, not only to uphold, but also to promote basic human rights?
- How welcoming are you of the change in legislation in Canada. In what ways does this challenge your personal beliefs, values, and worldview?
- What meaning do you make of your emotional and cognitive reaction to the idea that you are expected, as a Canadian citizen and as a member of the counselling or psychology professions, to take an anti-discriminatory stance towards gender identity and all forms of gender expression?
- If you are a gender-nonconforming person, how as the change in legislation affected you over the past decade in terms of your sense of self and your relationship to the dominant culture. What additional changes do you hope for in your personal and professional world?
[Permanent link: https://crsjguide.pressbooks.com/chapter/cc4/#enactinghumanrights]
*Isms
Smith, Constantine, Graham, and Dize (2008) explored a number of forms of racism (some subtle, others less subtle) to deconstruct and analyze the stories that we tell ourselves as a means of explaining away attitudes and beliefs that are fundamentally racist. The authors of this article focused on the implications of these ways of spinning racism in our work with clients from nondominant ethnic groups; however, these same processes of distorting perceptions and experience can lead to unintentional oppression with clients from other nondominant populations, because they emerge from unexamined personal biases or assumptions. By trivializing biases or convincing ourselves that they don’t exist, we blind ourselves to their significant sociocultural, economic, and political influence. This has the effect of marginalizing the lived experiences of individuals and groups who are targeted, directly and indirectly, by prejudice and discrimination. Complete the Spinning of *isms template (MS Word version) to examine the ways in which you may unintentionally fall prey to some of these conceptual traps.
Consider a time when you heard a voice in your own head that made an unfair judgment of another person based on visible or invisible markers of difference. Be honest with yourself, because none of us are completely free of these *isms. Perhaps it was an assumption that a colleague would be healthier if she lost weight. Or maybe it is a belief that being gay is a lifestyle choice. Or what if refugees are really taking jobs away from real Canadians? Return again to the ways in which you might be most inclined to spin your thinking when this occurs.
- What steps might you take to bring those assumptions or biases into the open?
- How might holding them limit your ability to engage in culturally responsive and socially just practice?
- What are risks or losses involved in letting them go?
[Permanent link: https://crsjguide.pressbooks.com/chapter/cc4/#spinning]
Impact of homophobia on client–counsellor interactions (Partner activity)
This learning activity is intended to identify the potential impacts of both covert and overt homophobia on the client–counsellor relationship and the counselling process. None of us are free of homophobic beliefs and reactions because our assumptions, values, and beliefs are impacted by the heterosexual norms in society. Even individuals who are out as lesbians, for example, still experience moments when their sense of difference influences the ways in which they view themselves, interact with others, or react to the world around them.
Homophobia may be experienced and expressed in both overt, deliberate ways and in subtle, unconscious, or covert ways. The counselling relationship and the process of counselling are impacted by the degree of homophobia experienced by the counsellor and the degree of internalized homophobia experienced by the client. Counselling interactions may be classified on the following grid.
The positioning of both counsellor and client on this grid will influence the entire counselling process, including
- the quality of the interaction between counsellor and client,
- the assumptions made about human nature,
- the way in which the problem is defined,
- the nature of the goals established,
- the types of intervention strategies selected, and
- the client outcomes.
Choose a partner and select at least two different combinations from the Low-high homophobia grid. Then select one of the roles described for the counsellor and one of the roles described for the client from within each cell. The presenting concerns have deliberately been left to your imagination, so be creative with where you go with each scenario. Remember that even the individuals described in the vignettes provided under the low homophobia row are unlikely to be completely nonhomophobic. Set a time to meet with your partner to role-play a potential interaction between counsellor and client for the first combination of vignettes. Switch roles and repeat the exercise for the second combination. Try to immerse yourself in the possible thoughts, feelings, and behaviours associated with your character. Be sure to attend to both your affective reaction to the interaction and your cognitive learning. Debrief your dialogues with your partner, attending to the following questions:
- What were your affective and cognitive reactions to playing the role of counsellor or client in each case?
- In what ways did the assumption of heteronormativity operate for both the counsellor and the client?
- What are the implications of this exercise for minimizing the impact of homophobia in counselling members of sexual minorities?
Finally, reflect back on this activity, and consider the inherent bias in positioning each of the counsellors as straight and each of the clients as queer. If you did not notice this positioning as you worked through the exercise, what are the implications or underlying assumptions you might you want to reconsider?
[Permanent link: https://crsjguide.pressbooks.com/chapter/cc4/#impactofhomophobia]
Complete the self-study quiz, Myths and Facts About Women. You will receive immediate feedback about your responses. As you reflect on your score on the quiz, attend to the following questions:
- Which answers were most surprising for you?
- Why were these answers unexpected?
- What feelings are you experiencing as you reflect on this information?
- Has misinformation about women ever influenced your behaviour in the past? How might increasing your knowledge influence your future actions?
- What does this information tell us about male privilege in our society?
- How might the responses differ if the data focused only on women of colour, Muslim women, women with disabilities, or transgender women?
[Permanent link: https://crsjguide.pressbooks.com/chapter/cc4/#mythsandfacts]
Prejudice
Becoming a parent is one of the most significant events in some people’s lives. Watch the UN Free & Equal short video on Intersex Awareness. Place yourself in this moment and reflect on how you might react to the news of a healthy, normal, intersex baby.
© UN Human Rights (2016, October 24)
To further capture a glimpse of the experience of intersex children and adults, explore the information on the UN Free & Equal Intersex Awareness page, particularly the Intersex Voices section, and the website of Mx. Anunnaki Ray, an intersex activist.
Write a short letter to your newborn intersex baby about what your hopes and dreams for them are.
[Permanent link: https://crsjguide.pressbooks.com/chapter/cc4/#perfect]
Psycholonization
Recognizing and challenging processes of psycholonization (Class discussion)
Consider the following assertion.
The process of colonization was designed to eradicate Indigenous peoples not only through overt forms of genocide, but also through covert forms such as the deliberate destruction of Indigenous cultures, theft of Indigenous land, and enforced alienation of Indigenous peoples from their languages, spiritual expressions, and relationships to family and community. A subtler reinforcement of this genocide is the ideological positioning of Indigenous persons and peoples as dysfunctional or suffering from mental illness. It is this forced internalization of the deficit model of colonization, an act of cultural violence against mind and spirit, that implicates healthcare systems specifically. At the crux of this process of psycholonization is the ongoing assumption that client symptoms are a manifestation of individual or interpersonal pathology, instead of considering the individual’s symptoms as an effect of systemic cultural oppression.
Now respond critically and reflectively to these questions posed by Reynolds and Hammound-Beckett (2018, p. 7).
- How are we (as practitioners, organizations, and professions) participating, overtly, covertly, unintentionally, or with ethical blindness, in the psycholonization of Indigenous people?
- How might we be doing this in ways that perpetuate colonialism and oppression and construct Indigenous people, families, and communities as unwell, broken, and incapable?
[Permanent link: https://crsjguide.pressbooks.com/chapter/cc4/#processesofpsycholonization]
Psycholonization through reparative (conversion) therapy (Class discussion)
Consider either of the following examples through the lens of psycholonization. The intent is not to appropriate or minimize the experiences of Indigenous peoples, but rather to point out that psychology and pseudopsychology are also used in the overt and covert cultural oppression of other persons and peoples.
- A client comes to see you after participating in a reparative (conversion) therapy process. She is distressed and full of self-blame and shame, because she perceives herself to have failed in the eyes of God. She still has feelings towards women even after all her attempts to find a cure.
- A colleague is engaged in a form of reparative (conversion) therapy and brings some of the challenges from his practice to a peer consultation and supervision meeting. Others in the group seem uncomfortable with the topic, but simply try to change the subject and avoid expressing potentially conflictual perspectives.
Critically reflect on how your own dominant or nondominant cultural identity development may influence your perspectives, and integrate your understanding of nondiscriminatory and affirmative practice principles. You may also want to consider the Spiritual Competencies of the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counselling in your critical dialogue.
[Permanent link: https://crsjguide.pressbooks.com/chapter/cc4/#reparativetherapy]
Racism
Click on the link below to watch a short video of Dr. Neeru Bakshi in which she applies the concept of neuroplasticity (i.e., how to rewire our brains) to the phenomenon of racism.
Psychology of racism: How to rewire your brain toward antiracist thought
© K5 News (2020, November 23)
Reflect on your own motivation to learn, grow, and evolve as a human being. What steps can you take today to kick start your lazy brain? What new avenues for appreciating diversity might emerge from simply challenging your mind? What might the consequences be for other people and society as a whole if you choose to stop allowing your brain to grow?
[Permanent link: https://crsjguide.pressbooks.com/chapter/cc4/#lazybrain]
Social Determinants of Health
The Commission on Social Determinants of Health, World Health Organization (2008) identified a number of key social determinants of health that impact the health and well-being of individuals, communities, and entire populations across the world. Complete the Barriers and goals for health equity table (Word version) to apply these key factors to a nondominant population of your choice. Identify one professional competency that you need to enhance in order to address the change goals you highlighted, and list two things you will do this week to begin to build this competency.
[Permanent link: https://crsjguide.pressbooks.com/chapter/cc4/#globalapproach]
Systemic/Structural Barriers
Consider the map of Sexual Orientation Laws in World created by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. Choose two of the countries in shades of red on the map from different continents and then look up the specific laws in the Mendos (2020) report on State-Sponsored Homophobia. The world has become a smaller place in the last century with the advent of world travel, the internet, and other aspects of modern life that connect us to other places and peoples.
One of the foundational principles of systems theory is that we are all interconnected, so that a change in one part of the system has a ripple effect in other areas. What are the implications for counselling practice in Canada of these world-wide examples of continued cultural oppression of 2SLGBTQIA+ persons? Conversely, what impact might the profession of counselling in Canada have on the lived experiences of others around the world? Reflect on the challenges of working with an immigrant or refugee from one of these countries, who identifies as a sexual minority.
[Permanent link: https://crsjguide.pressbooks.com/chapter/cc4/#statesponsored]
References
Arthur, N., & Collins, S., (2016). Multicultural counselling in the Canadian context. In N. Gazzola, M. Buchanan, O. Sutherland, & S. Nuttgens (Eds.), Handbook of Counselling and Psychotherapy in Canada (pp. 73-93). Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association.
Brown, L. S. (2010). Feminist therapy. American Psychological Association.
Carroll, A., & Mendos, L. R. (2017, May). State-sponsored homophobia: A world survey of sexual orientation laws: Criminalization, protection and recognition. https://ilga.org/sites/default/files/ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2017_WEB.pdf
Collins, S. (2018). Embracing cultural responsivity and social justice: Re-shaping professional identity in counselling psychology. Counselling Concepts. https://counsellingconcepts.ca/
Collins, S., & Arthur, N. (2018). Challenging conversations: Deepening personal and professional commitment to culture-infused and socially just counselling processes. In D. Paré & C. Audet (Eds.), Social justice and counseling (pp. 29-41). Routledge.
Commission on Social Determinants of Health, World Health Organization. (2008). Closing the gap in a generation: health equity through action on the social determinants of health. Final report of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2008/9789241563703_eng.pdf
Fellner, K., John, R., & Cottell, S. (2016). Counselling Indigenous peoples in a Canadian context. In N. Gazzola, M. Buchanan, O. Sutherland, & S. Nuttgens (Eds.), Handbook of counselling and psychotherapy in Canada (pp. 123-147). Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association.
Jean Baker Miller Training Institute. (2017). The development of relational-cultural theory. https://www.jbmti.org/Our-Work/the-development-of-relational-cultural-theory
McNair, R. P. (2017). Multiple identities and their intersections with queer health and wellbeing. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 38(4), 443-452. https://doi.org/10.1080/07256868.2017.1341398
Reynolds, V., & Hammoud-Beckett, S. (2018). Social justice activism and therapy: Tensions, points of connection, and hopeful scepticism. In C. Audet and D. Paré (Eds.), Social justice and counseling: Discourses in practice (pp. 3-15). Routledge.
Smith, L., Constantine, M. G., Graham, S. V., & Dize, C. B. (2008). The territory ahead for multicultural competence: The ‘spinning’ of racism. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 39(3), 337-345. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.39.3.337
Sterling, P. R., Gartner, R. E., Woodford, M. R., & Fisher, C. M. (2017). Sexual orientation, gender, and gender identity microaggressions: Toward an intersectional framework for social work research. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 26(1–2), 81-94. https://doi.org/10.1080/15313204.2016.1263819
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. (2015). Honouring the truth, reconciling for the future: Summary report of the truth and reconciliation commission of Canada. https://ehprnh2mwo3.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Executive_Summary_English_Web.pdf
UN Human Rights. (2016, October 24). Home [YouTube Channel]. https://www.youtube.com/UNOHCHR/
12SLGBTQI+ = two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual
