Strength, solidarity, strategy and sustainability: A counseling psychologist’s guide to social action
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Toporek, Rebecca L.
Abstract / Description
The roles of counseling psychologists vary by setting, population, and circumstances. Yet, social justice can be a unifying force beyond the boundaries of daily responsibilities. No matter how insightful or profound counseling psychology theories or practice are, if they are focused on individual change alone, they will never sufficiently address injustice. Injustice and the inadequacy of traditional, individually focused paradigms present tensions between counseling psychologists’ work to help individuals cope with life’s challenges and inadvertent (or intentional) support of systems that perpetuate oppression. This paper explores this dichotomy, avenues for moving to action, and personal sustainability in the face of professional fatigue. Experiences as a counselor and counseling psychologist, as well as research, shape the way I see advocacy and activism and have given rise to strategies I have found helpful. A resulting framework for developing a “personal social action plan” is represented by four pillars: Strength, Solidarity, Strategy and Sustainability (S-Quad). National and local challenges across the globe reflect enormous differences in contexts, needs, politics, and resources. Yet, sharing strategies for social action, activism, and advocacy can provide seeds for optimism and action toward justice and positive change.
Keyword(s)
advocacy counseling social action solidarity strategy sustainability social justicePersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2018-10-31
Journal title
The European Journal of Counselling Psychology
Volume
7
Issue
1
Page numbers
90–110
Publisher
PsychOpen GOLD
Publication status
publishedVersion
Review status
peerReviewed
Is version of
Citation
Toporek, R. L. (2018). Strength, solidarity, strategy and sustainability: A counseling psychologist’s guide to social action. The European Journal of Counselling Psychology, 7(1), 90–110. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejcop.v7i1.153
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Toporek, Rebecca L.
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2018-11-29T07:49:11Z
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Made available on2018-11-29T07:49:11Z
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Date of first publication2018-10-31
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Abstract / DescriptionThe roles of counseling psychologists vary by setting, population, and circumstances. Yet, social justice can be a unifying force beyond the boundaries of daily responsibilities. No matter how insightful or profound counseling psychology theories or practice are, if they are focused on individual change alone, they will never sufficiently address injustice. Injustice and the inadequacy of traditional, individually focused paradigms present tensions between counseling psychologists’ work to help individuals cope with life’s challenges and inadvertent (or intentional) support of systems that perpetuate oppression. This paper explores this dichotomy, avenues for moving to action, and personal sustainability in the face of professional fatigue. Experiences as a counselor and counseling psychologist, as well as research, shape the way I see advocacy and activism and have given rise to strategies I have found helpful. A resulting framework for developing a “personal social action plan” is represented by four pillars: Strength, Solidarity, Strategy and Sustainability (S-Quad). National and local challenges across the globe reflect enormous differences in contexts, needs, politics, and resources. Yet, sharing strategies for social action, activism, and advocacy can provide seeds for optimism and action toward justice and positive change.en_US
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Publication statuspublishedVersion
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Review statuspeerReviewed
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CitationToporek, R. L. (2018). Strength, solidarity, strategy and sustainability: A counseling psychologist’s guide to social action. The European Journal of Counselling Psychology, 7(1), 90–110. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejcop.v7i1.153en_US
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ISSN2195-7614
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1690
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.2056
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Language of contenteng
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PublisherPsychOpen GOLD
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.5964/ejcop.v7i1.153
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Keyword(s)advocacyen_US
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Keyword(s)counselingen_US
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Keyword(s)social actionen_US
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Keyword(s)solidarityen_US
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Keyword(s)strategyen_US
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Keyword(s)sustainabilityen_US
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Keyword(s)social justiceen_US
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitleStrength, solidarity, strategy and sustainability: A counseling psychologist’s guide to social actionen_US
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DRO typearticle
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Issue1
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Journal titleThe European Journal of Counselling Psychology
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Page numbers90–110
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Volume7
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Visible tag(s)Version of Record