Advocacy Advocacy Program Transcript [MUSIC PLAYING] NARRATOR: Advocacy and change are closely intertwined. In this video program, Dr. Judy Lewis defines advocacy and explains the roles of counselors advocating for change. Dr. Lewis also describes barriers counselors may face as they advocate for change, and how to overcome these barriers. DR. JUDY LEWIS: At its most basic, advocacy is simply the act of speaking up on behalf of someone else-- maybe speaking up for someone who is voiceless or powerless. When it comes to the counseling profession, advocacy is particularly important for two reasons. One is that part of our process of working with clients is to help them gain the strength and the skills so they can advocate on their own behalf. The other part of it is that once we realize that the client might not have the power to be able to speak up on his or her own behalf, sometimes we may have to be the ones that speak up on behalf of the clients. This happens especially when we see a lot of different clients all having similar problems, and we realize that there is a systemic reason for it. There is something in the community environment that is standing between these clients and what they need. So as counselors, when we're oriented toward advocacy, what we are doing is changing the lens through which we see the client. Instead of looking through a microscope at the individual client, we're looking through a wide-angle lens. So that we're seeing the context of what's happening in the client's life. When counselors carry out advocacy, they do this at several different levels. One level is the level of working with the individual client or family. When you're working with an individual client, you have two alternatives. One is to work in an empowering way with the individual so that he or she learns to advocate for himself or herself. The other possibility-- when that doesn't provide all the answers-- the other possibility is to do advocacy on behalf of that individual. When we're working with the clients in an empowering way, what we're helping them see is the degree to which some of the problems that they're having may not be totally their fault. When people start feeling as though they're so much at fault, sometimes they just get stuck and can't seem to move beyond their current situation. If they can begin to see for themselves what some of the barriers are that are preventing them from getting to where they want to go, and where sometimes they're not © 2016 Laureate Education, Inc. 1 Advocacy completely at fault-- they're not completely guilty-- we can start to teach them some of the skills that they need. So they can speak up on their own behalf and have some success. Sometimes they might not have the power to do this on their own. They may need help. So we may be involved in individual advocacy where we are standing up to the system on behalf of certain c.

1. Advocacy
Advocacy
Program Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
NARRATOR: Advocacy and change are closely intertwined. In
this video
program, Dr. Judy Lewis defines advocacy and explains the

2. roles of counselors
advocating for change. Dr. Lewis also describes barriers
counselors may face as
they advocate for change, and how to overcome these barriers.
DR. JUDY LEWIS: At its most basic, advocacy is simply the
act of speaking up
on behalf of someone else-- maybe speaking up for someone
who is voiceless or
powerless.
When it comes to the counseling profession, advocacy is
particularly important
for two reasons. One is that part of our process of working with
clients is to help
them gain the strength and the skills so they can advocate on
their own behalf.
The other part of it is that once we realize that the client might
not have the
power to be able to speak up on his or her own behalf,
sometimes we may have
to be the ones that speak up on behalf of the clients.
This happens especially when we see a lot of different clients
all having similar
problems, and we realize that there is a systemic reason for it.
There is
something in the community environment that is standing
between these clients
and what they need.
So as counselors, when we're oriented toward advocacy, what
we are doing is
changing the lens through which we see the client. Instead of
looking through a
microscope at the individual client, we're looking through a

3. wide-angle lens. So
that we're seeing the context of what's happening in the client's
life.
When counselors carry out advocacy, they do this at several
different levels. One
level is the level of working with the individual client or
family. When you're
working with an individual client, you have two alternatives.
One is to work in an
empowering way with the individual so that he or she learns to
advocate for
himself or herself.
The other possibility-- when that doesn't provide all the
answers-- the other
possibility is to do advocacy on behalf of that individual. When
we're working with
the clients in an empowering way, what we're helping them see
is the degree to
which some of the problems that they're having may not be
totally their fault.
When people start feeling as though they're so much at fault,
sometimes they just
get stuck and can't seem to move beyond their current situation.
If they can begin
to see for themselves what some of the barriers are that are
preventing them
from getting to where they want to go, and where sometimes
they're not
© 2016 Laureate Education, Inc. 1

4. Advocacy
completely at fault-- they're not completely guilty-- we can start
to teach them
some of the skills that they need. So they can speak up on their
own behalf and
have some success.
Sometimes they might not have the power to do this on their
own. They may
need help. So we may be involved in individual advocacy where
we are standing
up to the system on behalf of certain clients. So at the
individual level, we work
with the client and we work on behalf of the client.

5. The same thing happens when we're working at the level of the
community.
Ideally, if there are problems in the community, we can work
closely with other
community members who are trying to bring about change. We
can be
consultants and helpers and communication processors, so that
they are more
successful in bringing about the change that they're trying to
bring about.
And sometimes, we also need to work on behalf of the
community. Sometimes
we have something special to offer so that we can take more of
a leadership role
in bringing about change. But again, we are working with the
community. And
sometimes, as needed, we're working on behalf of the
community using the skills
that we have to advocate for change.
In the broader public arena, again, we work with the population,
and we work on
behalf of the population. The best way to work with the
population is to provide
some scientific basis for some of what they're trying to do. We
are good at getting
information about problems. And we're good at communicating
about those
problems.
Sometimes though, communication isn't enough. Sometimes we
need to get
active ourselves. Sometimes we need to go and lobby on behalf
of policy

6. changes. Sometimes we need to address, very directly, problems
that we see
around us. And again, at that broader public level, which may
be at a state or a
national level, we are working with the populations that we
serve, and sometimes
working on their behalf.
Let me give you an example of how the advocacy competencies
come into play
when you're working with a client or a family.
This is an example of a high school student, a young African
American who had
gotten into trouble in school. He had been involved in
something that happened
where there were a lot of white kids who were involved in the
problem. And he
was the only one who was identified by a teacher in the school.
He got into
trouble in school. And his family was very upset. And so the
school asked a local
family counselor to work with the family.
Now maybe what the school was trying to do was to get the
counselor to calm
the family down. But the counselor recognized that the family
had some real
© 2016 Laureate Education, Inc. 2

7. Advocacy
concerns that there had been racism involved. And the fact that
this young man
had been the one who had been singled out, although other kids
had been
involved in the same situation.
The counselor understood that it's important to give people a
chance to work
through their thoughts about this kind of issue. Rather than
pushing them to
focus on what should the young man have done that was
different, what should
the family have done that was different. And working through
their feelings about
the racism that was involved, the counselor was able to help

8. them get past that
and start to think about some different things that they could do
to help the
student get back into good graces in school.
But I must say that the counselor realized that there were some
real questions
about school policies. There were some real questions about
whether racism
was involved in the student's situation. The counselor was in a
position, having
had this referral, to be able to go back to the school
administration and raise
some questions.
In working with this client, and this family, and this school, the
counselor began to
realize that some of these policies are not just school by school
policies. But
they're a result of state or national policies. So the counselor
got involved with
some other groups who were raising questions about school
policies, and
especially about the relationship between school policies and
how they affect,
differentially, students of color. So it ended up, I think, being a
good learning
experience-- not just for the client or the school, but for the
counselor.
When it comes to doing advocacy, one of the most difficult
things to get past is
the counselor's inner question about, is this really part of my
job? Is this
something I should be doing? Or is this something that's just
tacked on to the

9. work that I do directly with clients?
Counselors enter the profession because they have a view of
themselves sitting
in an office with a client, making a close personal connection,
being able to help
an individual. Their daydreams about what it's going to be like
to be a counselor
usually don't see them with signs up on Capitol Hill. So for a lot
of people, it feels
uncomfortable. Am I really supposed to be doing this? Is this
really part of what I
need to be doing?
And that's why it's important, I think, to have a seamless
connection between
what you're doing as a counselor working with your client, and
what you're doing
on behalf of your client. When you work with your clients-- if
you're a good
counselor-- the better you are at counseling, the more likely it is
that you're going
to notice that there are things going on outside the client's area
of control that
need to be addressed. You can see that close connection
between what you're
doing to help your client individually, and what you need to do
on your client's
behalf.
© 2016 Laureate Education, Inc. 3

10. Advocacy
So I think it becomes more comfortable as you get more
experience with
counseling and see what the need is that your clients have. They
do need more
from you than just that direct service. They need you also to be
able to see
what's getting in their way outside of their own skin.
A key factor in overcoming the challenges related to advocacy
and the advocacy
role is what happens as counselors are educated. I think the
more we can infuse
the idea of advocacy as part of how counselors are educated, the
more likely it is

11. that they're going to feel more comfortable with this as part of
their role once they
get into the profession. So sometimes it might be possible that,
with good
education behind them, counselors will feel more ready to move
into this part of
their role right from the beginning, rather than waiting until
experience shows
them that something has to be done.
Here's something I would suggest for counselor educators. We
would never think
that we could train a counselor to be a counselor without the
counselor ever
having practiced counseling someone. We wouldn't think that
someone could
become a counselor just by taking courses without ever having a
practicum or an
internship. But yet, advocacy now is really considered to be a
part of the
mainstream role of counselors. But to what degree do people
have opportunities
to practice advocacy while they are being educated as
counselors?
So I think for counselor educators and their curricula, I think
it's important to look
at this question and to see whether there might be more ways to
get people
involved in practicing advocacy while they're still students. So
it becomes really a
comfortable part of what they expect to do as professionals.
The purpose of advocacy is to bring about change. In some
situations, you
cannot have change without advocacy. So advocacy and change

12. are so closely
involved. Sometimes I think you can't have advocacy without
change. And you
can't have change without advocacy.
Advocacy
Additional Content Attribution
FOOTAGE:
WAL_MMPA6850_542003
National Archives. Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C.
[Leaders of the march
leading marchers down the street.], 08/28/1963. Retrieved from:
http://research.archives.gov/description/542003
WAL_MMPA6850_542010
National Archives. Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C.
[Leaders marching
from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial],
08/28/1963. Retrieved
from: http://research.archives.gov/description/542010
© 2016 Laureate Education, Inc. 4

13. Advocacy
WAL_MMPA6431_LOC_Capital
Carol M. Highsmith
WAL_EDUC7306_MP900422593
Microsoft Corporation
GettyLicense_473383507_h1
[purplevideos]/[Creatas Video]/Getty Images
© 2016 Laureate Education, Inc. 5
Comparing Change and Advocacy
Although related, social change and advocacy differ in
important ways. Each brings with it a particular perspective that
has implications for the actions you might take toward resolving
professional and societal issues and, therefore, the results that
would ensue from these actions.
To prepare:
Review this week’s Learning Resources. Think about the
distinction between social change and advocacy perspectives
related to the professional or societal issue you selected for
your Capstone Project.
Consider the implications of these differences on actions that
you might take, as well as the potential results.
With these thoughts in mind:
By Day 4
Post your perspective on the distinctions between social change
and advocacy. Discuss the implications of these distinctions and
differences. Then, explain the actions that you might take from

14. both social change and advocacy perspectives to address the
primary issues related to the strategic plan you will develop, as
well as the potential results.
References
Homan, M. S. (2016). Promoting community change: Making it
happen in the real world (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage.
Chapter 4, “Putting Yourself in the Picture” (pp. 96–112)
Chapter 5, “Knowing Your Community” (pp. 131–172)
Chapter 12, “Taking Action—Strategies and Tactics” (pp. 379–
417)
Schutz, A. (2011). Power and trust in the public realm: John
Dewey, Saul Alinsky, and the limits of progressive democratic
education. Educational Theory, 61(4), 491–512.
Snow, K. C. (2013). The importance of advocacy and advocacy
competencies in human service professions. Journal of Human
Services, 33(1), 5–16.
Laureate Education (Producer). (2009a). Advocacy [Video file].
Baltimore, MD: Author.