Social Justice Counseling
The Next Steps Beyond Multiculturalism
- Rita Chi-Ying Chung - George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
- Frederic P. Bemak - George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
The authors are leading authorities on social justice counseling and have led the way to create a specialization in social justice counseling at their school at George Mason University. This book is the first to bring all these concepts together, tie them to multiculturalism, and offer personal applications and tools for mental health professionals. It is theoretical yet highly practical in offering concrete steps toward becoming more social justice oriented.
"This is an interesting book written by two internationally-minded and experienced counselor educators uniquely qualified to write it. Advocating a larger role for therapists in a society and world often shot through with social injustice, Professors Chung and Bemak show how multicultural counselors and other psychotherapeutic professionals can move to "the next level" in helping clients achieve social justice at home and abroad."
"This book answers the question " What has the last 25 years of multiculturalism meant to the field of counseling?" The Editors go beyond the obvious toward the next step. Their emphasis on Social Justice is a natural extension of the multicultural literature. This book looks at the question "What does multiculturalism mean in the long run?" The authors suggest that conventonal counseling may be doing us a disservice by focusing on self-interest of the client and ultimately of the counselor. There is an alternative and that's what this book is about."
"This book is a delight to hold in my hand. I treasure the learning and new ideas that I gained from every chapter. Chung and Bemak have defined social justice broadly in a way that all can accept and endorse. It is required reading for us professionals and a critical text for students. I salute the authors for their major contribution to our field--perhaps the most important book since the year 2000."
"Social justice counseling and multiculturalism are inextricably linked and this timely text furthers a new worldview to guide relevant training, research and practice. The authors provide a space so their graduate students can give voice to personal social justice reflections, a further demonstration that social justice development is a journey. An innovative take-away from this cutting-edge book is the multi-level model of psychotherapy, counseling, social justice and human rights. Chung and Bemak maintain the focus on interdisciplinary collaboration to address complex and challenging social justice issues in a multicultural society."
"With the publication of Social Justice Counseling: Applications, Theory, and Practice, Rita Chi-Ying Chung and Fred Bemak, define the scholarly and moral foundations for a new revolution in counseling psychology values, thought, and practice. Building upon the ethical and moral advances of multicultural counseling that made diversity an essential consideration in counseling methods, Chung and Bemak propose that the counseling encounter must promote a client’s recognition and acceptance of their individual, familial, and societal responsibilities, obligations, and duties. In our global era, with its demands for citizen participation and activism, Chung and Bemak have given the counseling profession a new set standards for guiding and evaluating the success of counseling processes and outcomes via an innovative multi-phase model (MPM). The clarity of their goals, the passion of their words, and the systematic use of practical examples and provocative questions assure this volume will become a “classic.”"
"Newsflash! Mere cultural sensitivity is no longer sufficient to engage people of color in meaningful and authentic ways. The new bar has moved from cultural awareness to cultural competence and proficiency with an eye on social justice, and Bemak and Chung have helped us all take a giant step forward in meeting that standard with this new text on SOCIAL JUSTICE COUNSELING. Their voice is crystal clear about what it takes to navigate the terrain of the counseling profession if one is serious about working effectively with those clients of color and others who live their lives at the margins of society. Bemak and Chung have helped all counseling professionals reconnect with their roots, where assisting clients in coping with the nation's misery index was part and parcel of our identity as helping professional. Academicians and clinicians alike will undoubtedly applaud this effort and hail it as a useful tool in the arsenal of professional counseling initiatives."
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This is a fantastic text! I plan on using it not only in this class but also to refer to relevant chapters it in my Leadership Class as well as my Multicultural Counseling course - both graduate level. This book is easy to read and informative. I especially like how Chung and Bemak directly touch upon the hesitancy in the field of mental health counseling to step into an advocacy role. This book challenges professionals to think critically about redefining what it means to be a practitioner in our diverse society.
I am excited to use this book as it is leading the way with engaging critical psychology, liberation psychology and counseling psychology.
