Mental Health Counseling: Integrating Consultation and Social Advocacy
Abstract
With the meshing of consultation and advocacy, mental health counselors can both assist in dealing with the issues that their clients face personally, but also help to make better the world around them.
In order to respond to the thesis questions presented in this paper, we must first define consultation and social justice advocacy within the counseling context.
Typically, consultation means a general meeting or conference between parties. In the counseling context however, we can say that it “usually involves three parties: a consultant, a consultee, and a client system. The consultant delivers direct service to the consultee, who delivers direct service to a client system" (Doherty, 1990). Consultation for professional counselors typically involves acting on behalf of an identified client (or student) through interaction with another professional consultee or other stakeholder in the client’s welfare (Brown, Pryzwansky, & Schulte, 2010; Kampwirth, 2006; Kurpius & Fuqua, 1993). The consultee may also be conceptualized as a system or organization that serves an identified client or student population (Brown et al., 2010; Moe & Perera-Diltz, 2009). With these definitions, a counseling consultant relationship could be thought of as a chain of assistance in dealing with client issues. Advocacy, typically in regards to social justice, is a way in which a change is brought into society. In a historical context, the mental health reforms that Clifford Beers brought about in the late 1800s were an impactful form of social advocacy. Beers launched one of the earliest client-advocate health reform movements in the United States. A former patient who was institutionalized for three years, Beers led national and international efforts to improve institutional care, challenge the stigma of mental illness, and promote mental health. His efforts resulted in a major shift in attitudes toward mental illness, as well as the introduction of guidance
With the meshing of consultation and advocacy, mental health counselors can both assist in dealing with the issues that their clients face personally, but also help to make better the world around them.
In order to respond to the thesis questions presented in this paper, we must first define consultation and social justice advocacy within the counseling context.
Typically, consultation means a general meeting or conference between parties. In the counseling context however, we can say that it “usually involves three parties: a consultant, a consultee, and a client system. The consultant delivers direct service to the consultee, who delivers direct service to a client system" (Doherty, 1990). Consultation for professional counselors typically involves acting on behalf of an identified client (or student) through interaction with another professional consultee or other stakeholder in the client’s welfare (Brown, Pryzwansky, & Schulte, 2010; Kampwirth, 2006; Kurpius & Fuqua, 1993). The consultee may also be conceptualized as a system or organization that serves an identified client or student population (Brown et al., 2010; Moe & Perera-Diltz, 2009). With these definitions, a counseling consultant relationship could be thought of as a chain of assistance in dealing with client issues. Advocacy, typically in regards to social justice, is a way in which a change is brought into society. In a historical context, the mental health reforms that Clifford Beers brought about in the late 1800s were an impactful form of social advocacy. Beers launched one of the earliest client-advocate health reform movements in the United States. A former patient who was institutionalized for three years, Beers led national and international efforts to improve institutional care, challenge the stigma of mental illness, and promote mental health. His efforts resulted in a major shift in attitudes toward mental illness, as well as the introduction of guidance
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