Assignment 2 - Advocacy, Counselors understand that

Signature Assignment 2: Advocacy

Counselors understand that an important aspect of a professional, ethical counseling practice is to recognize areas in which advocacy is needed to address forms of injustice that the people we serve may face within society. Further, there are times in which we must advocate for the profession itself so that the role of counselors is understood and respected adequately. Developing a plan for how you will address needs for advocacy is an integral part of developing a professional counseling identity.

To explore your understanding of the different levels and applications of advocacy, including individual client advocacy (called case advocacy in your book), systemic advocacy (called class advocacy in your book), and professional advocacy, you will write a 2-5 page paper using APA 7th edition format, with at least 2 scholarly sources submitted as a blog

Population

· Your chosen population or professional topic area

Needs and Advocacy Opportunities

· What are some areas of injustice, inequality, stigmatization, or oppression you can identify that your chosen population may experience:

. In your community

. In other contexts (if you live in a rural area, how would this population be affected in urban areas? What are the needs that are the same? Which are different?)

· OR: if you choose a professional topic area, please describe

. What part of this professional topic area is a cause for concern and the impact it has on the clients in your community and other contexts

Counselor Advocacy

· Choose which level of advocacy would best meet the needs outlined above and detail how you would work with your chosen population/professional topic area to address those needs. If multiple levels of advocacy are needed, describe how you would integrate the other levels of advocacy into your plan.

               *Remember to think realistically about what is attainable based on your own and your populations resources and consider the challenges needed to overcome from multiple stakeholder perspectives.

· Individual Client/Case Advocacy: How will you work with and empower clients to get their individual concerns based on the above outlined needs addressed?

· Systemic/Class Advocacy: How will you address advocacy needs of your population as a group at different legislative and community levels including, local, agency, state, national, etc?

· Professional Advocacy: Are there any changes needed in how the profession addresses your chosen populations needs and how would you go about addressing them? OR: What is your plan to address the identified professional topic area of concern?

Conclusion

· Explain how you think advocacy could make a difference for your population and how you believe the advocacy efforts you outlined will impact your professional identity as a counselor and ethical responsibilities.