Kiselica & Robinson (2001) point out the community outreach programs may be beneficial for clients but also the counseling profession. This notion is supported by other research including that of Myers, Sweeney & White (2002) who suggest that professional associations can create venues for counselors to share knowledge, training and standards, as well as provide advocacy advancement and help the profession remain credible (394).
Though advocacy programs in the past have focused primarily on the needs and abilities of school counselors and educational representatives, counselors must broaden their perspectives so advocacy may now include all branches of the counseling field. This may require additional training and resources, but will help strengthen the credibility and success of the profession. Advocacy efforts will also help raise community awareness and strengthen the ability of counselors to develop their clients over short- and long-term periods.
Conclusions
Advocacy is an important component of the counseling profession. In times of old advocacy issues were primarily reserved for the educational or school counseling field. Today however, new approaches to advocacy can benefit counselors and clients in any type of counseling arrangements.
A new model of advocacy must include community involvement and developmental advocacy to help strengthen counselor's ability to improve patient's outcome for the future. Counselors should work toward not simply treating patients, but also work toward developing them and helping amend the communities in which they live so that the community in turn also supports itself and the counselor's potential clients.
For counselors to effectively adopt an advocacy framework they must first assert their mission as promotion of optimal development and improvement for all patients (Lewis, Cheek & Hendricks, 2001; Kiselica & Robinson, 2001). Akos & Galassi support a developmental advocacy framework instead of a client advocacy framework, which is the traditional method adopted by most counselors. Developmental advocacy enables counselors to work more toward "changing an environment so it meets the needs of clients" (Bradley & Lewis, 3).
References
Akos, P. & Galassi, J.P. (2004). "Developmental...
Advocacy From the Margins: Identifying Opportunities to Facilitate Social Services Delivery to the Disadvantaged Across North America, women account for slightly more of the population than men, yet their earnings and opportunities for career advancement remain far less than their male counterparts. Certainly, some of these disparities are based on biological reasons involving the need for women to care for young children, but many other gender-based factors that marginalize women are
Advocacy Strategy: Domestic Violence Against Women Arizona Coalition Against Domestic Violence states domestic violence is a pattern of behavior that includes the use or threat of violence and intimidation for gaining power and control over another person. Violence is characterized by: Physical Abuse, Economic Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Verbal Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Isolation, and Control (AzCADV, 2011). The battering of women by men continues to be a significant social problem -- men
Part one outlined the extent of child obesity in the United States. The effect of obesity is that it has strained the American healthcare system by increasing the prevalence of various deceases that are associated with obesity. Child obesity is a prevalent and major health concern among the American parents. Several campaigns have been carried out in America with the aim of reducing the prevalence of the disease in the
3HK Cares Project ProposalHK Cares is an organization or foundation that was established by Dr. Patrick Khoo, a former professor at Hong Kong University and currently a professional doctor. This foundation was established to help improve patient outcomes and experiences, which has become a major issue in the modern healthcare sector because of emerging healthcare issues. This foundation, which is in Hong Kong, China, seeks to provide a wide range
Social Services Entity Social work is a demanding field that warrants a closer examination as to the effectiveness of the social workers in the Child Protective Services Agency. With increased caseloads, social workers may not meet the needs of its constituents. Furthermore, decision-making and judgment may be impaired due to the associated level of stress experienced. In the field of social work, the goal is to make a difference in the
Court Management Policy Proposal The retributive and rehabilitative approaches of justice are dominant, and research suggests that they have disappointed the juvenile legal system. The rise in youth crime and critiques of the juvenile legal approaches has led to demands for reforms in the way of charging youth offenders. The retributive approach of justice suggests that juvenile offenses are violations against the state and holds the state accountable for sentencing youth
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now