When you see the words “social justice” what comes to mind? In recent times have you heard of any issues relating to economic inequalities? Gender inequalities? Health reform? Peace and justice? Racial inequalities? Corporate power? Democracy? I assume that very few are not familiar with the majority of these topics and in most cases I suspect most have fallen victim to one or more of these issues.
Social justice encompasses a broad spectrum of challenges in our society to include socioeconomics, opportunities, rights, privileges, obligations, roles, relationships and the associated issues that plague our society. Psychology plays a critical role in overcoming social injustices and in achieving social justice ideals. When we take a closer look at these concerns we need to do so from a social justice perspective. “A social justice perspective emphasizes societal concerns, including issues of equity, self-determination, interdependence, and social responsibility.” (Rasheed, et al., 2008)
Captured in an article presented in the Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology, the researchers state, “Social justice is not only an ideological stance through which clinical, instructional, and research work is filtered, it is also related to behaviors which constitute social justice work.” (Rasheed, et al., 2008) How does psychology play a role in social justice? How do we address and overcome these challenges? By examining social justice through the lens of a social psychologist I suggest that almost every topic we examine will present a role that social psychology can play, especially from a clinical/counseling perspective. The article makes an interesting, yet profound recommendation, “one key way that psychologists can integrate social justice into counseling psychology is to train the next generation of counseling psychology professionals as social justice change agents.” (Rasheed, et al., 2008)
As we examine methodologies and courses of action in achieving societal justice ideals, and overcoming the challenges that exist in doing so, we must examine solutions and ways in which we can effectively fuse these goals by implementing the social sciences, specifically social psychology research and counseling. Ways in which we can successfully become “change agents”. The article captures this goal by stating that doctoral programs need to examine ways to “integrate good clinical and research training with a social justice agenda, it can be accomplished through the integration and infusion of social justice with existing experiences in which students and faculty are engaged.” (Rasheed, et al., 2008) As we “lean in” and “lean forward” to develop more effective ways to address social justice issues we will need to examine how our curriculum, research methods, and clinical training can more adequately prepare us to be agents of change in a diverse, dynamic, and challenging world.
Work Cited:
Rasheed Ali, S., Ming Liu, W., Mahmood,, A., & Arguello, J. (2008). Social Justice and Applied Psychology: Practical Ideas for Training the Next Generation of Psychologists. Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology, 1(2), 1-13. Retrieved March 8, 2015, from http://www.psysr.org/jsacp/Ali-V1N2-08.pdf
Schneider, F., Gruman, J., & Coutts, L. (2012). Chapter 4: Intervention and Evaluation. Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems(2nd ed., pp. 63-66). Los Angeles: Sage.