System-Centered Care: How Bureaucracy and Racialization Decenter Attempts at Person-Centered Mental Health Care

This article presents a study exploring structural biases within mental health organizations, in the context of person-centered care-an emerging framework for health systems globally. Findings revealed how surrounding institutional structures conditioned a powerful influence on clinical operations, in which there is a risk for clients to be systemically seen as a non-person, that is, as a racialized or bureaucratic object. Specifically, the article elucidates how racial profiles could become determinants of care within institutions; and how another, covert form of institutional objectification could emerge, in which clients became reduced to unseen bureaucratic objects. Findings illuminated a basic psychosocial process through which staff could become unwitting carriers of systemic agenda and intentionality-a type of "bureaucra-think"-and also how some providers pushed against this climate. These findings, and emergent novel concepts, add to the severely limited research on institutional bias and racism within psychological science.

Before allyship: A model of integrating awareness of a privileged social identity

Introduction

Although the American Psychological Association encourages clinical psychologists to recognize and understand the experience of social privilege both within themselves and the individuals and communities they serve, there is a dearth of research in the field to guide this pursuit. According to the available literature, an essential barrier to social privilege integration is its implicit and covert nature that prevents consistent consciousness due to hegemonic forces.

Methods

This study explored the process, from initial social privilege awareness to the moment of the study, through individual interviews. A social-constructivist, grounded theory approach was utilized as it was aligned with the understudied phenomena oriented around social justice.

Results

The result is a developmental model of social privilege integration that explicates accumulated exposures to privilege, the resultant threat to and protection of personal identity, and the conducive factors that lead to reconciliation.

Discussion

Implications of this theoretical model include the importance of a developmental perspective to cultivate an understanding of individual prejudice attitudes and discriminatory behaviors, as well as a roadmap toward equitable change. This model may be used by clinical psychologists across multiple settings in response to the most recent APA multicultural guidelines.

Just data representation for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders: A critical review of systemic Indigenous erasure in census and recommendations for psychologists

The decennial Census survey marks the emergence of federal classifications of race and ethnicity by which the U.S. government has historically conflated Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI, hereafter) as "Asian or Pacific Islander." This conflation amplifies health injustices and inequities of NHPIs through multiple mechanisms because it masks the complex and heterogeneous experiences of NHPIs, whose positions and relations with the settler state are qualitatively and substantially distinct from Asian Americans. This critical review examines federal documents and research to examine how the panethnic categorizations are often sustained through scientific inquiry and methodologies. We found that self-determination and self-identification for NHPIs are impeded by settler-colonial relations between U.S. colonization of parts of Oceania (e.g., Hawai'i, Sāmoa, Fiji, and Guam) and the forcefully imposed categorization that continues to be in use to legitimize the domination of Indigenous Peoples through race misclassification. Specifically, Census data collection fails to capture accurate and reliable data due to serious methodological limitations. These implications for psychological research compel us to make several recommendations for psychologists: (1) engage with NHPI community partners in all research processes; (2) critically examine Census research design and consider oversampling NHPI households to ensure just data representation; (3) meaningfully engage when, whether and how to aggregate Asian Americans with NHPIs; and (4) use Indigeneity as a critical framework.

Social Justice Identity Development for International Counseling Psychology Students

Despite the inclusion of social justice and international issues in counseling psychology, there are no conceptual models or research to date that focus on social justice identity development and training issues for international counseling psychology students. The unique cross-cultural experiences and systemic injustices facing many international counseling psychology students may inform their social justice identity development in a distinctive manner. Thus, by incorporating biculturalism and transformative learning theories, this article proposes a theoretical model to illustrate the psychological processes and outcomes of social justice identity development for international counseling psychology students with the following four phases: (a) cultural and social awareness of privilege and oppression, (b) critical analysis of systemic oppression across cultures, (c) synergistic development of social justice competence and bicultural competence, and (d) integration of social justice identity and competence across cultures. We provide recommendations for future practice, advocacy, education, training, and research.

Collective Program Social Justice Identity and Perceived Norms on Promoting Student Advocacy

A growing body of research suggests that graduate psychology training programs with a stronger collective social justice identity are likely to provide more support for students’ advocacy engagements than those with discrepant views among members. We conducted response surface analyses ( N = 178 PhD students; across 16 counseling psychology programs) to examine whether the degree of congruence and discrepancy in social justice attitudes and perceptions of training program norms (perceived social justice norms among students and faculty) between the individual student and other students in their program would be associated with students’ social justice advocacy intentions and behaviors. Higher congruence in attitudes and perceived norms (among students and faculty) were significantly associated with advocacy intentions. For advocacy behaviors, only congruently higher perceptions of faculty were significantly associated. Discrepant attitudes and perceived norms were not significantly related to students’ advocacy intentions and behaviors. Recommendations for training and research are discussed.

“Walking in Two Worlds”: Toward an Indigenist Ecological Systems Model for Group Therapy

Walking in two worlds is a common metaphor Indigenous peoples use to describe their experiences navigating the differences between Indigenous and Western epistemological and ontological worldviews across various contexts. Despite wide support for this phenomenon, there have been few attempts to address Indigenous–Western cultural incongruities through structural changes in counseling psychology, although as a profession, it is well equipped to do so. Thus, we propose for counseling psychology to move toward the Indigenist ecological systems model (IESM) as an integrative framework for promoting Indigenous epistemologies and ontologies in science and practice. We provide a brief overview of IESM and a direct application of the model through a case illustration of Walking in Two Worlds, a psychotherapy group for Indigenous peoples. With IESM, we describe creating an Indigenous-informed clinical intervention that leverages Indigenous epistemologies and ontologies, prompting real ecological change. We conclude with implications IESM has for counseling psychology.

COVID-19 Racism, Internalized Racism, and Psychological Outcomes among East Asians/East Asian Americans

The present study investigated the psychological effects of racism on East Asians and East Asian Americans (EAEAAs) living in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic using a mixed-methods approach. First, using an autoregressive cross-lagged panel analysis, we investigated the relations between COVID-19 racism, internalized racism, psychological distress, and social isolation among EAEAAs. We then examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on EAEAAs using consensual qualitative research-modified. Quantitative findings showed that COVID-19 racism at Time 1 was associated with greater subsequent psychological distress, and COVID-19 racism at Time 2 was associated with greater levels of subsequent psychological distress and social isolation at Time 3, suggesting that COVID-19 racism predicted psychological distress and social isolation over time. Qualitative findings highlighted the prevalence of racism towards EAEAAs and the associated negative consequences. Findings demonstrate that EAEAAs living in the United States are at great risk due to the detrimental effects of racism during COVID-19.

Recognition of Community-Based Youth Programming in Counseling Psychology Journals: A 30-Year Analysis

As a field, counseling psychology distinguishes itself through its values of building on client strengths, developmentally-informed and preventative approaches to treatment, social justice efforts to confront individual and systemic oppression, and treatment of individuals across the lifespan. Community-based youth programs offer a culturally-responsive way to advocate for and challenge the systemic inequities faced by youth today. Despite the connections between counseling psychology values and community-based programs, it is unclear how, and to what extent, the field has contributed to this literature. To address this issue, we conducted a content analysis of the three major counseling psychology journals to determine how community-based youth programs have been represented in the field. From January 1990 to March 2019 only 10 articles were published about community-based youth programming, representing only .17% of the articles published during that time period. Implications and future direction for researchers, journals, and the field as a whole are addressed.

A Qualitative Examination of Dialogical Elements in Anti-Racist Deep Canvassing Conversations

This community-based action research study aimed to better understand the dialogical process underlying deep canvassing (Denizet-Lewis, 2016), a social justice intervention technique for engaging in nonconfrontational discussions designed to constructively challenge prejudicial attitudes. Previously, it has been suggested, but not demonstrated, that cognitive dissonance and perspective taking may serve as the mechanisms of change that facilitate shifts in the process of these dialogues. In the current study, 15 anti-racist deep canvassing conversations with White individuals were facilitated by White canvassers working with Showing Up for Racial Justice New York City. A dialogical approach was used to address the question of what intrapsychic and interpersonal processes occurred in these conversations on the topic of reparations. Themes included Interpersonal Agreement, Intervoice Dynamics, Authoring the Self and the Other, and Bringing in Personal Experience. We discuss the results and implications for future action research with prejudice reduction interventions.

A Preliminary Investigation of Social Justice Perceptions Among U.S. Speech-Language Pathologists: Clinical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this survey research is to provide preliminary data regarding speech-language pathologists' (SLPs') perceptions of the role that social justice (SJ) plays in their work. As our professional organizations call us to advocate and communicate with regulatory agencies and legislative bodies to promote quality care for all individuals, this topic has become particularly important at this time. At present, there is a lack of data in peer-reviewed publications within the discipline of communication disorders on SJ and even less regarding the perceptions of SLPs on SJ. Method The survey was sent to American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)-certified SLPs, identified by the ASHA ProFind database, across six U.S. geographic regions, including both urban and rural communities. Four themes were explored through the survey: (a) importance of SJ, (b) awareness of SJ, (c) current practices related to SJ, and (d) barriers to SJ implementation. Results The majority of respondents view SJ as important to the profession (91.2%) and value the work of creating equality among groups (96.0%). Many SLPs are actively involved in implementing SJ principles in their own practice by accepting Medicaid (40.7%), engaging in political outreach (55.0%), and providing transdisciplinary educational outreach (77.9%). Identified barriers to incorporating SJ include time (62.7%), resources (65.6%), and finances (70.0%). Conclusions Working for SJ is important to a majority of the respondents, and various efforts are implemented to create equal opportunities for service to clients. Barriers continue to exist that limit the degree to which SLPs can work toward SJ. A list of actions to be considered in order to promote SJ in the field is provided. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.16584044.

The Restorative Justice Attitudes Scale: Development and Initial Psychometric Evaluation

Restorative justice as an applied and theoretical construct has received growing public attention; yet, little research on restorative justice has been conducted within psychology, including counseling psychology—a subfield devoted to social justice, advocacy, and the promotion of human rights and dignity for all people. This may in part be due to the lack of established empirical measurement concerning restorative justice. We developed the Restorative Justice Attitudes Scale (RJAS) using data collected from 650 US adults. Exploratory analyses yielded a 5-factor structure composed of 20 items within five dimensions: (a) Empathic Understanding, (b) Harm and Needs, (c) Restoration Processes, (d) Accountability, and (e) Community Engagement. However, confirmatory analyses suggested the use of a total scale score. Evidence of construct validity was established as the RJAS score was related to measures of empathy and perspective-taking. We discuss implications for the use of the RJAS in practice, advocacy, education, training, and research.

Building a Climate for Advocacy Training in Professional Psychology

Counseling psychologists have been at the forefront of social justice and advocacy efforts in the discipline of psychology. Despite these foci, few graduate training programs in psychology offer formal courses or training in advocacy, social justice, and public policy. To develop and fill a pipeline of professionals involved in social justice and advocacy efforts, graduate training programs in psychology must expose and prepare students to these areas. The purpose of the current paper is to describe how faculty within the professional psychology program at the University of Denver incorporate advocacy, public policy, and social justice education and training into their program. We describe how the program climate and curriculum were created to meet these training needs.

Microlevel Advocacy: A Common Process in Couple and Family Therapy

Advocacy is an essential element to mental health practitioners' professional identity. Some scholars contend that many couple and family therapists lack the skill set needed to effectively advocate. However, these researchers often discuss advocacy solely on the macrolevel, which makes advocacy appear unidimensional and may feel out of reach for many practitioners. In this article, we argue that advocacy is not unidimensional, but consists of two levels: macro- and microlevel advocacy. Microlevel advocacy is client-centered and is effectively performed by couple and family therapists on a regular basis. By broadening the definition of advocacy to include the microlevel, we argue that advocacy is a common process of couple and family therapy that cuts across therapy models and is interwoven into the very being of a couple and family therapist. We present in this article a comprehensive case vignette to illustrate how microlevel advocacy may be performed by CFTs. Clinical and training implications are offered to help clinicians begin to bridge the gap between micro- and macrolevel advocacies.

Use of a media intervention to increase positive attitudes toward transgender and gender diverse individuals

BACKGROUND 

As issues related to transgender and gender diverse individuals gain more national media attention, professional organizations that promote mental health and LGBTQ + rights continue to advocate for equality and inclusion. Barriers to equality and inclusion for transgender and gender diverse individuals can include a variety of factors including discrimination in educational and workplace settings, and issues related to housing, poverty, and homelessness.

AIM 

To examine the impact of a media intervention on changing attitudes toward transgender and gender diverse individuals.

METHODS 

A total of 223 students from a large, Midwestern university in the USA participated and received a 45-minute media intervention along with pre- and post-testing.

RESULTS 

A split-plot factorial ANOVA to investigate potential differences in attitudes and beliefs toward transgender and gender diverse individuals using the Transgender Attitude and Beliefs Scale indicated a statistically significant interaction based on a media intervention where F(1, 109) = 7.042, p = .009. A split-plot factorial ANOVA to investigate potential differences in willingness to engage in social action on behalf of this population measured by the Social Justice Scale did not indicate a statistically significant interaction based on the media intervention where F(1, 109) = .881, p = .350.

CONCLUSION 

These findings suggest that a variety of potential media interventions can increase positive attitudes and beliefs toward marginalized groups, but a stronger and/or additional intervention is needed for participants to engage in social action on behalf of the group. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed.

Toward a Developmental Science of Politics

In this monograph, we argue for the establishment of a developmental science of politics that describes, explains, and predicts the formation and change of individuals' political knowledge, attitudes, and behavior beginning in childhood and continuing across the life course. Reflecting our goal of contributing both theoretical conceptualizations and empirical data, we have organized the monograph into two broad sections. In the first section, we outline theoretical contributions that the study of politics may make to developmental science and provide practical reasons that empirical research in the domain of politics is important (e.g., for identifying ways to improve civics education and for encouraging higher voting rates among young adults). We also review major historical approaches to the study of political development and provide an integrative theoretical framework to ground future work. Drawing on Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems model as an organizing scheme and emphasizing social justice issues, we describe how factors rooted in cultural contexts, families, and children themselves are likely to shape political development. In the second section of the monograph, we argue for the importance and utility of studying major political events, such as presidential elections, and introduce the major themes, rationales, and hypotheses for a study of U.S. children's views of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. In addition, we apply a social-justice lens to political thought and participation, addressing the role of gender/sex and race/ethnicity in children's political development broadly, and in their knowledge and views of the 2016 U.S. presidential election specifically. In interviews conducted within the month before and after the election, we examined two overarching categories of children's political attitudes: (a) knowledge, preferences, and expectations about the 2016 election, and (b) knowledge and attitudes concerning gender/sex and politics, particularly relevant for the 2016 election given Hillary Clinton's role as the first female major-party candidate for the presidency. Participants were 187 children (101 girls) between 5 and 11 years of age (M = 8.42 years, SD = 1.45 years). They were recruited from schools and youth organizations in five counties in four U.S. states (Kansas, Kentucky, Texas, and Washington) with varying voting patterns (e.g., Trump voters ranged from 27% to 71% of county voters). The sample was not a nationally representative one, but was racially diverse (35 African American, 50 Latinx, 81 White, and 21 multiracial, Asian American, Middle Eastern, or Native American children). In addition to several child characteristics (e.g., age, social dominance orientation [SDO]), we assessed several family and community characteristics (e.g., child-reported parental interest in the election and government-reported county-level voting patterns, respectively) hypothesized to predict outcome variables. Although our findings are shaped by the nature of our sample (e.g., our participants were less likely to support Trump than children in larger, nationwide samples were), they offer preliminary insights into children's political development. Overall, children in our sample were interested in and knowledgeable about the presidential election (e.g., a large majority identified the candidates correctly and reported some knowledge about their personal qualities or policy positions). They reported more information about Donald Trump's than Hillary Clinton's policies, largely accounted for by the substantial percentage of children (41%) who referred to Trump's immigration policies (e.g., building a wall between the United States and Mexico). Overall, children reported as many negative as positive personal qualities of the candidates, with negative qualities being reported more often for Trump than for Clinton (56% and 18% of children, respectively). Most children (88%) supported Clinton over Trump, a preference that did not vary by participants' gender/sex or race/ethnicity. In their responses to an open-ended inquiry about their reactions to Trump's win, 63% of children reported negative and 18% reported positive emotions. Latinx children reacted more negatively to the election outcome than did White children. Girls' and boys' emotional responses to the election outcome did not differ. Children's personal interest in serving as U.S. president did not vary across gender/sex or racial/ethnic groups (overall, 42% were interested). Clinton's loss of the election did not appear to depress (or pique) girls' interest in becoming U.S. president. With respect to the role of gender/sex in politics, many children (35%) were ignorant about women's absence from the U.S. presidency. Only a single child was able to name a historical individual who worked for women's civil rights or suffrage. Child characteristics predicted some outcome variables. For example, as expected, older children showed greater knowledge about the candidates than did younger children. Family and community characteristics also predicted some outcome variables. For example, as expected, participants were more likely to support Trump if they perceived that their parents supported him and if Trump received a greater percentage of votes in the children's county of residence. Our data suggest that civic education should be expanded and reformed. In addition to addressing societal problems requiring political solutions, civics lessons should include the histories of social groups' political participation, including information about gender discrimination and the women's suffrage movement in U.S. political history. Providing children with environments that are rich in information related to the purpose and value of politics, and with opportunities and encouragement for political thought and action, is potentially beneficial for youth and their nations.

Designing Quality Programs that Promote Hope, Purpose and Future Readiness Among High Need, High Risk Youth: Recommendations for Shifting Perspective and Practice

This paper uses a social justice perspective to recommend a number of program design strategies for improving high need, high opportunity youth access to quality education, career and workforce development. Globally, high need, high opportunity youth refer to the estimated 500 million youth who live on less than $2 per day, the estimated 600 million youth who are not in school, not employed, and not in training (i.e., NEET or Opportunity Youth). The recommendations are framed using a number of U.N. Sustainable Development Goals with the central aim being to increase access to decent work.

Proactive Personality and Decent Work Among Racially and Ethnically Diverse Working Adults

Building from the psychology of working framework, we examined the moderating role of proactive personality in the attainment of decent work among a sample of racially and ethnically diverse employed adults in the United States ( N = 238). We tested our hypotheses using structural equation modeling and found experiences of marginalization and economic constraints to have indirect associations with decent work via work volition. We also found marginalization, work volition, and career adaptability to have direct associations with decent work but found no support for proactive personality as a moderating mechanism. Our findings contribute to the growing literature examining how contextual variables are associated with securing decent work among diverse groups. We discuss practical implications along with future directions for research related to the psychology of working.

Counseling Psychology and the Amelioration of Oppression: Translating Our Knowledge Into Action

In the new millennium, counseling psychologists have answered the call to address oppression related to intersectional identities. We have played a major role in the development of practice guidelines and policies, as well as in the application of ethical principles in cultural contexts. The Counseling Psychologist has served to disseminate information addressing needs and interventions for diverse communities. In this article, we review the history and impact of our efforts to ameliorate oppression. The pressing challenges of economic and educational disparities are highlighted along with how counseling psychologists are uniquely situated to meet the needs of the underserved. Our research, training, and practice are anchored in methodological pluralism, global helping paradigms, participatory engagement, and the promotion of liberation and radical healing. We offer recommendations to deconstruct current models and reconstruct a decolonized approach, embrace interdisciplinary collaboration to fight cultural encapsulation, strengthen prevention and advocacy, train a culturally diverse workforce, and prioritize intersectional research.

Social Justice in Counseling Psychology: Then, Now, and Looking Forward

In this article, a diverse group of early, mid, and advanced career scholars call for counseling psychology to continue to evolve in our integration of social justice action in our field. In doing so, we first consider our history as proponents and enactors of social justice, highlighting the ways in which counseling psychologists have served as social justice leaders in psychology. We then discuss our field’s contemporary challenges to, and opportunities for, social justice progress as we work toward equity and justice. Finally, we offer recommendations for counseling psychologists individually and as a field to move forward in our social justice action. Given our longstanding social justice values and our unique training as counseling psychologists, if we aim with intentionality to use our skills toward systems change, counseling psychologists are poised to have a strong and proactive role as social change agents within psychology and society at large.

Social Justice and International Competencies: Positioning Counseling Psychologists for the Global Era

In this article, we attempt to draw a connection between social justice and international competencies within counseling psychology. Built on Constantine et al.’s general social justice competencies as well as the cross-national cultural competences model and dynamic-systemic-process model of international competencies, nine international social justice competencies are outlined and their relevance in international contexts is highlighted. In addition, three specific mindsets for the enhancement of international social justice work by U.S.-based counseling psychologists are discussed. We believe that by promoting the integration of social justice and international competencies, future counseling psychologists will be better prepared for the global era.

White Supremacy and Counseling Psychology: A Critical–Conceptual Framework

The mainstreaming of White nationalism in the United States and worldwide suggests an urgent need for counseling psychologists to take stock of what tools they have (and do not have) to combat White supremacy. We review the rise of social justice issues in the field of counseling psychology and allied helping professions and point to the limits of existing paradigms to address the challenge of White supremacy. We introduce transnationalism as an important theoretical perspective with which to conceptualize global racisms, and identify White racial affect, intersectionality, and allyship as three key domains of antiracist action research. Finally, we suggest three steps for sharpening counseling psychologists’ approaches to social justice: rejecting racial progress narratives, engaging in social justice-oriented practice with White clients, and centering White supremacy as a key problem for the field of counseling psychology and allied helping professions.

Toward Affirming Therapy: What Sex Workers Want and Need From Mental Health Providers

Within the field of psychology, the development of a culture of competency both in training programs and, more specifically, related to working with historically underrepresented and underserved populations has been making significant progress. One group who has been neglected, however, consists of individuals who consensually work in the commercial sex trade industry (i.e., sex workers). The current Delphi study begins to address this gap. Using responses from eight sex workers to explore factors affecting disclosure of occupation to therapists, barriers and facilitators to receiving mental health care, and areas for educational growth among mental health professionals, the results reveal participants’ preference for therapists who take an affirming approach regarding their occupation (e.g., respecting the hard work, skill, and emotional labor) and do not assume that they are in therapy because of their work. Broadly, this article highlights the knowledge, skills, and attitudes sex workers believe comprise critical areas of competency for therapists working with this often-stigmatized population. Ultimately, these results can be used to advance competent, just, and effective therapy with this population.

Toward a Psychological Framework of Radical Healing in Communities of Color

Advancing beyond individual-level approaches to coping with racial trauma, we introduce a new psychological framework of radical healing for People of Color and Indigenous individuals (POCI) in the United States. We begin by providing a context of race and racism in the United States and its consequences for the overall well-being of POCI. We build on existing frameworks rooted in social justice education and activism and describe a form of healing and transformation that integrates elements of liberation psychology, Black psychology, ethnopolitical psychology, and intersectionality theory. We briefly review these conceptual foundations as a prelude to introducing a psychological framework of radical healing and its components grounded in five anchors including: (a) collectivism, (b) critical consciousness, (c) radical hope, (d) strength and resistance, and (e) cultural authenticity and self-knowledge. We conclude with a discussion of the applications of radical healing to clinical practice, research, training, and social justice advocacy.

Health Care Experiences of Transgender Binary and Nonbinary University Students

An increasing number of young adults identify with nonbinary gender identities. Yet health providers and therapists often lack understanding of such identities. In this mixed-methods study of 506 transgender undergraduate and graduate students, most of whom (75%) had nonbinary gender identities, we aimed to understand participants’ mental health and health care experiences, and factors related to misgendering and less affirming treatment by providers. Eighty-five percent of participants reported mental health challenges, and named fear of violence and nonsupport as distal stressors. Experiences with therapists and health providers were mixed. Salient features of negative interactions were invalidation, avoidance, or overemphasis in regard to participants’ nonbinary identities. Participants viewed counseling services as more affirming than health services. Nonbinary students reported more misgendering by therapists and health providers, and less trans-affirming care by health service providers, compared to binary students. Undergraduate students reported more misgendering by therapists and health providers than graduate students.

Student Activism in the Neoliberal University: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Analysis

Student activism is a highly underresearched topic in psychology despite the field’s commitment to studying person–environment interactions and advancing social justice aims. Furthermore, less is known about the ways in which student activists navigate the neoliberal or “corporatized” university in the United States. This research study utilizes a hermeneutic phenomenological qualitative method in order to attempt to describe the experience of being a student activist within a “corporatized” or neoliberal university. The results demonstrate that the apolitical rhetoric and the consumerization of student life, characteristic of neoliberalism in higher education, influence the process through which students become activists and become explicit targets of discipline as well. Students understand their activism in terms of repoliticizing the university and reconfiguring their approach toward education away from consumer metaphors. The results also have significant implications for understanding how the experience of student activism interacts with the other social and economic stressors, simultaneously increasing demands on students while creating possibilities for connectedness and purpose.

A Qualitative Investigation of the Experiences of People Who Panhandle

U.S. Census data from 2016 indicate that 12.7% of the population may be living in poverty, a total of 40.6 million people. The most visible among this group facing unemployment or underemployment are people who panhandle, characterized by soliciting requests for assistance on street corners or highway exits. If issues of poverty are to be addressed adequately, the characteristics of these populations need to be better understood. In this qualitative study, we sought to understand the experiences of people who panhandle through in-person interviews. Participants included 9 individuals (6 men and 3 women). A consensual qualitative research approach was used to analyze the transcribed interviews resulting in 7 domains. We discuss results in the context of the psychology of working theory. Implications include the integration of social justice and vocational psychology among counseling psychologists working with clients who panhandle.

Strength, solidarity, strategy and sustainability: A counseling psychologist’s guide to social action

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.

A Qualitative Study of Korean Men Experiencing Stress Due to Nonprestigious Hakbeol

Hakbeol refers to one’s place in a hierarchical undergraduate pedigree system in South Korea. This qualitative study explored 12 Korean men’s experiences with societal prejudices associated with nonprestigious hakbeol status (e.g., attending “lesser-known” universities). Considering the gender role strain paradigm and the Confucian historical context in Korea, this study attempted to illuminate psychological issues stemming from Korean men’s emphasis on the value of a prestigious hakbeol status. Participants reported (a) holding both supportive and critical views about the hakbeol system; (b) perceiving an influence of their hakbeol status on fulfilling their filial piety; (c) experiencing unwanted everyday experiences in relation to others, careers, and self-image; and (d) making efforts to cope with barriers related to their hakbeol status. These findings provide psychologists with the language and evidence to address mental health concerns caused by hakbeol-based discrimination and systemic injustice issues. Implications for counseling, training, advocacy, and research are discussed.