2. Handbook for Social Justice in
Counseling Psychology: Leadership,
Vision, and Action
Ethics and Professional Issues Related to the
Practice of Social Justice in Counseling
Psychology
Contributors: Rebecca L. Toporek & Robert A. Williams
Edited by: Rebecca L. Toporek, Lawrence H. Gerstein, Nadya
A. Fouad, Gargi Roysircar &
Tania Israel
Book Title: Handbook for Social Justice in Counseling
Psychology: Leadership, Vision, and
Action
Chapter Title: "Ethics and Professional Issues Related to the
Practice of Social Justice in
Counseling Psychology"
Pub. Date: 2006
Access Date: June 17, 2017
Publishing Company: SAGE Publications, Inc.
City: Thousand Oaks
Print ISBN: 9781412910071
4. social interventionist,
and expert witness. (American Psychological Association
[APA], 2002)
This statement, taken from the Preamble of the Ethical
Principles of Psychologists and Code
of Conduct (APA, 2002), hereafter referred to as the “APA
Code,” identifies a range of
professional roles and responsibilities of psychologists. Many
of the roles noted in this
statement are reasonable avenues that, when practiced from a
place of ethics and
accountability, can contribute significantly to the elimination of
injustice, inequity, and bias.
There have been calls for a clearer and more consistent social
justice presence in counseling
psychology (Carter, 2003; Fouad et al., 2004; Ratts, D'Andrea,
& Arredondo, 2004). This
Handbook is designed to provide readers with the opportunity to
see the wide range of roles,
social issues, and projects through which counseling
psychologists are contributing to social
justice. The first chapter (Fouad, Gerstein, & Toporek) provides
historical and conceptual
underpinnings for the topics and approaches contained
throughout the book. As discussed in
that chapter, social justice has fluctuated in its acceptance
within the profession of counseling
psychology. Given this fluctuation, attention to ethics and
ethical issues particular to situations
involving counseling psychologists and social justice has been
scarce. A more explicit
discussion of ethics is necessary for a thoughtful and intentional
base for social justice in
practice, training, and research.
5. The intent of this chapter is to examine existing ethics
documents for their potential to provide
guidance and support for social justice work. Our primary focus
will be on the APA Code
(2002). However, we will also draw upon language and content
presented in the ethics codes
of other disciplines and specialties that historically have
maintained social justice as a central
tenet. In the second part of the chapter, we highlight ethical
issues that may arise when
working toward social justice and provide a case example
demonstrating how a psychologist
might attend to these issues. Finally, we provide
recommendations regarding future
development of ethical guidelines for social justice.
Working Definitions of Social Justice
With the renewed emphasis on social justice in counseling
psychology, there is a need for a
shared understanding of definitions and constructs. Two
particular resources anchor our
discussion. First, the Social Justice and Ethics Social Action
Group that convened at the
National Counseling Psychology Conference (Houston, 2001)
established the following
working definition of “social justice”:
A concept that advocates engaging individuals as coparticipants
in decisions which
directly affect their lives; it involves taking some action, and
educating individuals in
order to open possibilities, and to act with value and respect for
individuals and their
group identities, considering power differentials in all areas of
7. facilitate his or her ability to act
in the face of oppression, whereas social action was described
as action taken by the
counselor, external to the client, to confront or act on behalf of
client groups (Toporek & Liu,
2001). These definitions, and the definition of social justice
provided by the Social Justice
Ethics Work Group of the Houston conference, provide anchors
for our examination of the
relevance and utility of existing ethical codes.
Ethical Codes and Guidelines
Ethics codes, guidelines, and decision-making models serve as
tools for ethical behavior.
Within the APA Code (2002), the language that addresses social
justice most clearly may be
found in the Preamble and Principles. It is important to note
that the Preamble and General
Principles are “aspirational goals to guide psychologists toward
the highest ideals of
psychology. Although the Preamble and General Principles are
not themselves enforceable
rules, they should be considered by psychologists in arriving at
an ethical course of action” (p.
1061). As aspirational guidelines, these have the potential to
facilitate decision making
regarding issues that arise in the course of social action.
In our review of the APA Code (2002), as well as the Canadian
Code of Ethics for
Psychologists (Canadian Psychological Association [CPA],
2000), the Association of Black
Psychologists's Ethical Standards of Black Psychologists (Akbar
& Nobles, 2002), the
Feminist Therapy Ethical Code (Feminist Therapy Institute
9. Vision, and Action
Page 3 of 16
which states that psychologists must “acquire an adequate
knowledge of the culture, social
structure, and customs of a community before beginning any
major work there” (Respect for
Society, Paragraph 1). This is strengthened by the assertion that
psychologists must “convey
respect for and abide by prevailing community mores, social
customs, and cultural
expectations in their scientific and professional activities”
(Respect for Society, Paragraph 2).
The inclusion of the need to “abide” by the community and
cultural mores helps to secure the
position of the community as a driving force in the intervention.
The Ethical Standards of Black Psychologists goes even further
in its ethical standards,
stressing that Black psychologists are expected to “give
deference to the will and intent of
Black people” (Akbar & Nobles, 2002, p. 8). This strengths-
based perspective conveys the
assumption that the intent of Black people and human beings is
inherently toward growth
rather than destruction. This is articulated with regard to
research in the statement, “This
research should be reflective of the psychological strengths of
Black people and/or should be
focused on the cultivation of strengths which will foster such
improvement” (Akbar & Nobles,
2002, p. 7). This high level of respect is commensurate with the
responsibility and political
10. implications of one's role as psychologist of a given age, race,
ethnicity, social class, gender,
sexual orientation, and disability status.
Respect thus lays a foundation for social justice work by
ensuring that the psychologist
understands and abides by the community's strengths, goals, and
determination.
Responsibility
In our reading of ethical codes, three issues seemed to reflect a
construct we identified as
“responsibility”: ensuring equal access to psychology,
minimizing the effects of bias and
discrimination, and serving oppressed communities. First, the
APA Code (2002), Principle D,
Justice, states, “Psychologists recognize that fairness and
justice entitle all persons to access
to and benefit from the contributions of psychology and to equal
quality in the processes,
procedures, and services being conducted by psychologists” (p.
1062). This statement may
be interpreted as a suggestion that the expertise held by
psychologists should be shared with
all who can benefit. The difficulty, however, lies in the
condition that systemic injustice may
hinder equal access and quality of care. There is a need for
clearer directives regarding the
role that psychologists might have in eradicating the injustice
that limits access to services.
The second ethical issue related to responsibility is that of bias.
Principle D, Justice, of the
APA Code (2002) states, “Psychologists exercise reasonable
judgment and take precautions
12. The third area of responsibility may be described as an
expectation that professionals actively
serve members of oppressed groups and, in doing so,
acknowledge the complexities of the
group and oppressive circumstances. This ranges from direct
statements, such as the
responsibility of Black psychologists to return their expertise to
the Black community (Akbar &
Nobles, 2002), to statements asserting responsibility to serve
marginalized or vulnerable
groups. As an example of the latter type of statement, the CPA
Code (2002) states,
Although psychologists have a responsibility to respect the
dignity of all persons with
whom they come in contact in their role as psychologists, the
nature of their contract
with society demands that their greatest responsibility be to
those persons in the
most vulnerable position. (Values Statement, Paragraph 3)
Similarly, Bowman (1991) asserted that not only should
psychologists learn about the
communities that they serve, but they should be a part of the
development of “special
safeguards” in research to ensure that “vulnerable race and class
groups are not
systematically selected because of their compromised position,
their open vulnerability, and
their manipulability” (p. 753). Such a stance conveys both
respect and responsibility for both
the individuals and the communities that are being served.
Although the APA Code (2002),
13. Principle E: Respect for People's Rights and Dignity, refers to
“special safeguards,” it appears
that this was written specifically to “protect the rights and
welfare of persons or communities
whose vulnerabilities impair autonomous decision making” (p.
1063), and it is uncertain
whether this is meant to generalize to populations who are not
“impaired.”
Responsibility has been described as having a duty to serve
oppressed groups, eliminate
oppression, and make efforts to be conscientious in how one
engages and intervenes within a
community. Respect and responsibility lead to the third area of
ethical practice, social action.
Social Action
Ethics in social justice inherently invoke an explicit call to
action. Ethical codes we reviewed
for this chapter varied in the extent and nature of the action
expected of the professional.
Attention to social action appeared to be articulated in the APA
Code (2002), primarily through
Principle B: Fidelity and Responsibility, which states that
“psychologists strive to contribute a
portion of their professional time for little or no compensation
or personal advantage” (p.
1062). This statement encouraging pro bono work may be
important in serving communities
with limited resources. However, there is no clear expectation
that these are the communities
that psychologists will serve or that part of the work will be
toward eliminating injustice.
Payton (1994) expressed concern regarding the shift from a
15. “Social and Political Action,” which states,
Social workers should engage in social and political action that
seeks to ensure that
all people have equal access to the resources, employment,
services, and
opportunities they require to meet their basic human needs and
to develop fully….
Social workers should act to expand choice and opportunity for
all people, with
special regard for vulnerable, disadvantaged, oppressed, and
exploited people and
groups. (Social and Political Action, Paragraphs 1–2)
Finally, a variety of assertions regarding the multiple ways in
which a feminist therapist may
take social action are listed in a section of the Feminist Therapy
Code of Ethics (FTI, 1999)
explicitly titled “Social Change.” Examples of these assertions
include the following: “A
feminist therapist seeks multiple avenues for impacting change,
including public education
and advocacy within professional organizations, lobbying for
legislative action, and other
appropriate activities” (Social Change, Paragraph 1) and “A
feminist therapist actively
questions practices in her community that appear harmful to
clients or therapists. She assists
clients in intervening on their own behalf” (FTI, 1999; Social
Change, Paragraph 2). Similarly,
counseling psychologists who endorse social justice as part of
their practice must understand
that social action is an inherent part of such practice. This
action may be accomplished
through a range of roles, including, but not limited to, overt
political action (Toporek & Liu,
16. 2001). For example, the events leading to Larry P. v. Riles
(1984), which currently blocks
intelligence testing in San Francisco public schools, exemplifies
a group of Black
psychologists that used its roles as expert witnesses, clinicians,
educators, and researchers to
engage in political action, policy development, and
implementation.
Counseling psychologists have a unique mission, skill set, and
field of expertise. That
uniqueness does not preclude counseling psychologists from
drawing on the experience of
related fields to develop ethical guidelines that facilitate,
support, and guide intentional and
ethical social justice interventions. Furthermore, ethical
decision making is facilitated by
awareness of ethical complexities that may arise in social
justice endeavors. Hence, we turn
our attention now to a review of issues that may arise,
presenting ethical dilemmas for
counseling psychologists.
Ethical Issues, Social Justice, and Counseling Psychology
Several authors have identified ethical issues related to social
justice and advocacy in
counseling (e.g., Goodman et al., 2004; Kiselica & Robinson,
2001; Toporek & Liu, 2001).
Although not exhaustive, six major themes can be distilled from
a review of this literature:
competence, assumptions and worldview, politics, roles and
boundaries, informed consent,
and “do no harm.” On the surface, these themes reflect those
generally found in ethics
discussions. However, their meanings take on different levels of
18. recent, it is reasonable to consider it “an emerging area.”
Unfortunately, there has been little
examination of what competence means with regard to the
practice of social justice.
Numerous psychologists have asserted that the profession of
counseling and counseling
psychology has tended toward individual approaches and
intrapsychic explanations for
clients' distress (Haverkamp, 1994; Lewis, Lewis, Daniels, &
D'Andrea, 1998; Prilleltensky,
Dokecki, Friedan, & Wang, in press; Toporek & Pope-Davis,
2005). Given this emphasis,
counseling psychologists who work with clients experiencing
distress due to external,
structural forces run the risk of conveying the belief that the
individual is at fault for the
injustice he or she is experiencing. Prilleltensky et al. (in press)
charged that the counseling
profession has been deficient in systemic-level training and
neglects the environment and
sociopolitical context because of the overemphasis on
intrapsychic interventions. It follows
that competent practice requires that counseling psychologists
need to be trained to
recognize the role of external forces in clients' lives and
initiating systemic interventions such
as advocacy and social action (Toporek & Liu, 2001).
A second aspect of competence reflects professional limitations.
Kiselica and Robinson (2001)
noted that in order to adhere to the ethical principle of
recognizing one's professional
limitations, counselors involved in social justice work must
avoid being overzealous and
making “promises they can't keep” (p. 394). Furthermore, they
cautioned that, at times, during
19. activist activities, professionals may become overly enthusiastic
and consequently exaggerate
the cause. Ethical social justice practice requires that
counseling psychologists accurately
reflect the people and causes they represent. Similarly,
counseling psychologists must be
genuine about their ability to take an advocacy or social justice
position and acknowledge the
limits of their professional ability to do so. This concern may
also be reflected by full informed
consent (discussed later in this chapter) in that psychologists
and clients need to be clear
about the means by which, and extent to which, a psychologist
may be acting on a client's
behalf or acting as an independent professional or individual.
A third aspect of competence reflects the psychologist's
awareness of his or her well-being
and ability to perform. Dinsmore (as cited in Kiselica &
Robinson, 2001) noted,
There is often a high price to pay for being an activist,
including feeling emotionally
drained, being viewed as a troublemaker, placing your job in
jeopardy, and becoming
the target of backlash from colleagues at work or of harassment
from intolerant
individuals. (p. 393)
It is the responsibility of counseling psychologists to monitor
and modify practice when their
well-being or political situation may negatively affect their
work, even when the negative
effects result from the stress of challenging oppressive systems.
The self-care aspect of
competence influences a psychologist's ability to follow through
21. The summary of virtuous characteristics provided by Meara et
al. highlights some of the
critical elements related to the theme of worldview and
assumptions. In this context, we are
specifically targeting the aspect of worldview that influences
the psychologist's perspective of
the integrity of the client or community and the assessment of
the extent to which the
community is able to act on its own behalf. Toporek and Liu
(2001) noted that there has been
historical criticism of client advocacy based on the assumption
that advocating for clients
reinforces clients' feelings of helplessness. They acknowledged
that the potential for
paternalism exists, particularly when a psychologist outside of
an oppressed community acts
on behalf of that community. However, they also suggested that
the intentions of
psychologists can moderate the conditions under which
advocacy is enacted. This
underscores the need for counseling psychologists to be aware
of their motives while involved
in social justice work as well as their place of privilege based
on social class, educational
opportunities, race, gender, or other attributes.
The theme of assumptions and worldview also reflects issues of
awareness regarding beliefs
about what is the “right” thing to do or the “right” way to solve
a problem. Goodman et al.
(2004) raised this in their discussion of self-evaluation as a
tenet of social justice work. This
tenet may raise awareness of ethical issues affecting practice,
such as in cases of
incongruent cultural values between a psychologist and client
group.
22. Dual Roles and Professional Boundaries
Because social justice work often requires systemic
interventions, counseling psychologists
may be called upon to take on roles that vary from traditional
individual counseling. Having
engaged in a self-reflective process and illuminated one's intent
and assumptions about the
client's capabilities, the counseling psychologist is in a better
place to assess the context and
identify appropriate and effective roles. It is important to note
that the issue of competence
resurfaces given that training programs historically have
provided narrow guidance for
counseling psychologists regarding their role with clients with
little attention to roles such as
advocate, social activist, consultant, and others. Multicultural
scholars have noted the need
for role variation for some time and have provided models (e.g.,
Atkinson, Thompson, & Grant,
1993) to help psychologists determine the appropriate role
given the client, locus of the
problem, and goal of counseling.
In a related vein, current professional standards have also been
criticized for the constraints
imposed on relationships with clients without consideration of
context and culture (e.g.,
Brown, 1997; Kiselica & Robinson, 2001). Kiselica and
Robinson (2001) noted that the issue
of boundaries, as traditionally defined in counseling, may need
to be revisited when working
with marginalized clients who may be uncomfortable or
reluctant to seek services in traditional
settings. Likewise, being involved in social justice issues may
24. criticisms by multicultural and feminist scholars who have
argued that psychology has never
been apolitical (e.g., Aanstoos, 1986; Marecek, 1995;
Prilleltensky, 1994; Smith, 2000). Social
justice perspectives openly acknowledge the implicit political
nature of asserting that clients
and communities have a right to fair treatment; human dignity;
and equal access to health
care, education, and other resources. When a counseling
psychologist examines his or her
worldview and considers the implications of various roles, the
danger of political and religious
proselytizing in professional settings (Kiselica, 2003) is
minimized. This examination and
reexamination may be enhanced by ongoing collaboration with
the community as well as
mentors and colleagues.
The political nature of social justice counseling may be seen in
Goodman et al.'s (2004)
e x a m i n a t i o n o f e t h i c a l i s s u e s r e l e v a n t t o
t w o c o u n s e l i n g g o a l s : g i v i n g v o i c e a n d
consciousness raising. Giving voice to clients or communities
who have traditionally been
silenced regarding their experience of oppression represents one
aspect of social justice
counseling. Difficult decisions may arise when counseling
psychologists must choose which
voices are amplified through advocacy or even in the choices of
research foci. This presents
itself particularly when there are limited resources, dissenting
perspectives, and goals that
may seem self-destructive. Goodman et al. provided an example
of a counseling trainee
advocating to amplify the voice of a female adolescent who, in
the process of counseling,
25. made life choices that were potentially harmful. The ethical
dilemma arose for the trainee
regarding the balance of giving voice to the adolescent while
also working toward her well-
being.
Two ethical considerations relate to the goal of consciousness
raising. First, Goodman et al.
(2004) pointed out that the act of consciousness raising, a
political act, suggests that the
psychologist has achieved some level of critical consciousness
that is superior to that of the
client or group. This assumption calls upon the psychologist to
examine his or her worldview
and beliefs. A second ethical issue may develop as a result of
raising a client's consciousness
regarding his or her oppressive circumstances in the absence of
strategies for coping with or
addressing those circumstances. We would like to highlight the
need for a partnership
between social action and consciousness raising. Furthermore,
consciousness raising, in and
of itself, may not be sufficient or even desirable if there is no
attention to the consequences of
the newly acquired perspective and potential for positive action.
Informed Consent
Informed consent is a historically central aspect of ethical
practice and research. However,
this construct may take on different meanings in social justice
counseling, particularly in light
of the need to work at multiple levels of interventions. Ensuring
informed consent is the
practice of providing individuals with information regarding
services and interventions, thereby
27. that bring complexity to the
issue when multiple individuals or groups are involved: “Whose
consent was necessary to
obtain?” and “What would we do if some participants did not
consent?” (p. 822). These
questions highlight intricacies of informed consent that are not
often encountered in traditional
counseling approaches. The construct of informed consent needs
to be enhanced within
training and practice to assist psychologists in considering the
multiple questions that arise as
well as help clients consider the potential consequences of
intervention.
Do No Harm
As with accountability and informed consent, the axiom of “Do
no harm” needs to be
considered differently within the context of social justice. The
method of determining the
potential for harm may vary depending on the population
involved and is complicated when
multisystemic interventions are enacted. Pope (1990) discussed
the complexity of determining
whether a community is harmed by an intervention, including
dimensions such as the
influence of the intervention on the community's social ecology,
natural leadership,
cohesiveness, and sense of self-determination. This assessment
is further complicated by
considering the potential effects of cultural and social class
differences between the
counseling psychologist and the community. Pope also
described the need to assess the
impact of a social intervention on the relationship of the
community with the larger society
29. Handbook for Social Justice in Counseling Psychology:
Leadership,
Vision, and Action
Page 10 of 16
discussion of another ethical question. They posited that
building clients' strengths and
facilitating empowerment may emphasize for the clients the
degree of control they “should”
have in an oppressive system. Goodman et al. questioned the
ethics of working to help clients
feel empowered when they are actually in an unresponsive and
oppressive system.
The Practice of Social Justice: A Case Vignette
The following is a case vignette that demonstrates a therapist's
effort at engaging in ethically
sound social justice. Through this case study, we would like to
illustrate several of the issues
discussed in the above section, articulate how these may or may
not have been addressed by
the therapist, and conclude by reflecting on ways the therapist
may enhance his or her
response in light of these issues. This vignette is presented
chronologically; thus, there were
multiple decision points that could have resulted in different
outcomes had the therapist
chosen different routes. The reader should be curious about how
the therapist engaged in
ethical decision making, but should also wonder how he or she
might have approached the
30. same situation given age, race, ethnicity, social class, gender,
sexual orientation, and
disability status similarities or differences.
The Case of the Couple, their Nephew, and the Justice System
A 20-something African American male therapist met with a
middleaged, heterosexual,
African American couple, who presented because the husband
was on a conditional
release from the state mental health agency, after being found
not guilty by reason of
insanity. He had been released for more than 20 years, but had
to maintain regular
contact with a designated mental health agency. During the
regular checkin with the
therapist, the couple mentioned that they were distressed
because their nephew was
being prosecuted for a murder he did not commit. The couple
believed their nephew
was being truthful. In session, they lamented his fate and the
racism that caused him
to be jailed and possibly imprisoned.
At this point, the therapist felt that he had some training and
competence in
addressing sociopolitical forces. Thus, he felt it appropriate to
include a social justice
approach as an aspect of this case. It is noteworthy that neither
the therapist nor the
agency had a reputation for social advocacy or justice.
Initially, the couple seemed to be using the therapy time for
validation of their feelings
of hopelessness in the situation pertaining to their nephew.
Thus, the therapist
32. therapist, allowed the
therapist to make informed choices about empowering and
appropriate roles. He was
operating from his personal principle of “only do for a family
what it cannot do for
itself.” The therapist, an African American male, who was from
a more advantaged
social class than the couple, felt it would have been
inappropriate to assume that the
couple “should” advocate for themselves in the same manner as
other middle- and
upper-class families might advocate for their relatives in the
justice system.
The couple said that they would like to support their nephew in
his court appearances
and appeals. But they did not see themselves as having any
other role in advocating
for him. After asking the couple to offer any other ideas on how
they could help, the
therapist shifted from the role of collaborator to that of expert.
He asked the couple if
they had ever heard of the attorney general. Because they had
not, he described the
attorney general as the highest ranking lawyer in the state and
explained that it was
the attorney general's responsibility to look into concerns they
might have about
impropriety. The therapist suggested that the attorney general
would listen if they, as
state citizens, had a legitimate cause and that because the
attorney general was an
elected official, they had a way to let him know whether he was
doing a good enough
job.
33. In the above dialogue, the therapist began to shift away from
collaborator and move
toward expert because his assessment indicated that the couple
was uninformed about
their legal options. At the end of the interaction, the therapist
became concerned that
his advocacy could easily become a public matter, resulting in a
possible newsworthy
event, and considered how he could maintain appropriate
boundaries while also seeing
his advocacy reach a reasonable endpoint. This potential
highlights the need for
informed consent given possible consequences the couple might
face if their actions
resulted in public attention.
The couple indicated that they did not know what to do, so they
were resigned to wait
until the court dates. The therapist asked them what outcome
they hoped for, to which
they replied that their nephew would be home and justice would
be served. The
therapist obtained the couple's permission to collaboratively
problem solve ways to
make this possible.
Throughout this session, one can see that the therapist refrained
from imposing his
social justice agenda. In an effort to ensure informed consent,
he sought permission to
proceed at each step toward social justice. This is important
because psychologists
who are involved in social justice may forget that some clients
have not given much
thought to self-advocacy or may not feel entitled to do so. Thus,
psychologists may
35. and therapist checked in weekly regarding the matter. Although
the wheels of justice
were slow, the couple was able to facilitate their nephew's
release on bail, pending a
second trial.
Reflecting on the Vignette
In the above vignette, the therapist (a) engaged in social justice
because he felt he had some
competence and training in this area, (b) had an awareness of
his beliefs and intentions and
was therefore able to collaborate rather than patronize, (c)
carefully chose appropriate roles
given the context and strengths of the couple as well as
established appropriate boundary
separation between “behind the scenes” involvement versus
more public advocacy, and (d)
attempted to maintain informed consent throughout the process.
The therapist's postcounseling reflections suggested that it may
have been helpful to inform
the couple about additional resources and collaborate with them
to discover published
resources such as the NAACP Legal Defense and Education
Fund, as well as other nonprofit
organizations that provided legal advocacy. In addition,
establishing complete informed
consent would have involved educating the couple regarding
any potential negative and
positive implications of their advocacy actions as well as the
possible duration of advocacy
necessary. In the long run, the therapist's goal was to help the
couple develop skills that they
could generalize in any kind of social justice matter similar to
the tenet of “leaving the clients
36. tools for social change,” as described by Goodman et al. (2004,
p. 798).
Another ethical concern may result when a therapist encourages
a client to engage in a
particular action even when there is a good likelihood that the
advocated position may fail. It is
possible that a state attorney general would be less likely to
listen to the above-described
couple than an advocacy group. Thus, it can be equally
important to realistically prepare the
couple for possible response or lack thereof. This is an example
of how complex the choices
may be in terms of determining an appropriate role and
intervention. At times, empowerment
of the couple may be enough, whereas at other times,
empowerment may be combined with
independent action or advocacy on the part of the psychologist
independent from the client
(Toporek & Liu, 2001). On a final note, this vignette provided
an illustration of the “both-and”
principle, rather than the “either-or” principle. It is often
thought that “either” one engages in
social justice “or” one engages in psychotherapy. The therapist
endeavored to provide “both”
psychotherapy “and” social justice. This parallels literature that
emphasizes the need to
balance intrapsychic and extrapsychic interventions (e.g., Boyd-
Franklin, 2003; Haverkamp,
1994).
Recommendations for Future Developments
In light of existing ethical codes and issues as described in the
social justice literature, we
propose several recommendations for future directions to
38. goals include empowerment,
collaboration, information, and advocacy. Although this
document is specifically focused on
advocacy, it offers guidance for defining similar competencies
for social justice.
Second, guidelines that could be used for ethical decision
making for social justice in
individual and community interventions would be useful; for
example, the model for ethical
decision making described by Ridley, Liddle, Hill, and Li
(2001). This model involves two
dimensions: stages (critical reflection and creative problem
solving) and process (ethical
consideration of cultural data and the ethical resolution of
cultural conflicts) integrating
attention to cultural contexts and implications. This type of
model may be useful in social
justice counseling given its attention to external and contextual
variables.
Third, training programs will need to adjust their curricula to
incorporate social justice
interventions in order to broaden counseling psychologists'
competence. In contrast to
Prilleltensky et al. (in press), we believe that counseling
psychologists can practice social
justice ethically and can develop a scope of competence in this
arena. At the same time, we
agree that practitioners, researchers, and educators need to be
trained to recognize external
and systemic forces of oppression and intervene appropriately.
Fourth, research is needed to examine the impact of different
ethical decision-making models
on clients and counseling psychologists particularly in light of
39. the complexities presented in
social justice interventions. In addition, research regarding the
efficacy of counseling
psychologists undertaking alternative roles would be useful.
Qualitative and quantitative
research that assists psychologists in developing models for
appropriate balance between
individual and structural conceptualizations and interventions in
counseling could help
increase the cultural relevance of work with clients facing a
variety of oppressive contexts.
Conclusion
Although the APA Code (2002) notes areas of ethical concern
that may be applied to social
justice in counseling psychology, complexities exist that
suggest that there is a need for
clearer guidance. For counseling psychology to truly
demonstrate a commitment to positive
social change, ethical codes and guidelines should reflect the
issues inherent in this work.
Related professions, organizations, and specializations that have
historically centralized social
justice should be considered as resources in the pursuit of more
relevant guidelines. Finally,
there is a need for more directed training and research to
facilitate greater social justice
competence at both organizational and individual levels in the
profession of counseling
psychology.
Rebecca L.ToporekRobert A.Williams
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