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Essay about Consultation and Advocacy in Counseling

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Consultation and Advocacy in Counseling
Donna Boyett
COUN 5004
Survey of Research in Human Development for Professional Counselors
August 4, 2012

195 Wayfair Lane
Hinesville, GA 31313
Telephone: (912) 980-1231
Email: Donna.Boyett@hotmail.com
Instructor: Kathy Blaydes
Abstract
This paper discuses the importance of social justice advocacy and consultation in the counseling profession. The introduction is an explanation of social justice advocacy, and the different ways counselors advocate for their clients. Next, I discussed how I see myself related to advocacy as I become a professional within my area of specialization and my belief about the similarities between advocacy and consultation. After that I discussed how advocacy …show more content…

One of the definitions of consulting is “a meeting for deliberation, discussion, or decision” (“Consulting”, n.d.). As stated above there are many ways to be a social justice advocate in counseling that overlap with consultation, such as educating groups that affect the client, serve as a mediator between the client and institutions, negotiate with agencies to provide better services, and actively confronting the injustice and inequality in society as they impact clients. In order to educate groups that affect the client you typically must arrange a meeting for discussion. Serving as a mediator and negotiating with agencies that affect the client also require you to sit down for a meeting with these agencies in order to discuss the issues affecting your client. Now that we’ve covered how I see myself related to advocacy as a professional within my area of specialization, and if I believe consultation and advocacy are similar or different, Let’s move onto how advocacy will benefit the care I provide for children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families related to my future area of specialty. A counselor who knows how to advocate for his/her clients can significantly improve the care that they receive. Since oppression is clearly linked to mental illness, being an advocate is absolutely necessary for my clients who experience oppression. Otherwise the care that they would receive would be inadequate. There are many ways advocacy improves the care

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