Don’t talk about it, be about it: Advocating for Inclusive Campus Environments
Conference Strand
Teaching, Training, and Supervision
Abstract
The multicultural and social justice counseling competencies offer a comprehensive framework to consider in the counseling program’s relationship with its students. In this session, participants will recognize the action potential of inclusivity, discuss the physiological and cognitive inclusion examples within counseling programs, evaluate their campus environments, and make recommendations towards inclusivity based on the Inclusive Campus Design themes. Counseling students can develop their advocacy skills in support of creating and maintaining an inclusive learning environment.
Evidence
American Counseling Association. (2022, December 2). Social Justice and Human Rights Statements. https://www.counseling.org/about-us/social-justice
Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (2022, December 2). 2016 CACREP Standards. https://www.cacrep.org/for-programs/2016-cacrep-standards/
Ratts, M. J., Singh, A. A., Nassar-McMillan, S., Butler, S. K., & McCullough, J. R. (2016). Multicultural and social justice counseling competencies: Guidelines for the counseling profession. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 44, 28–48. doi:10.1002/jmcd.12035
Ocampo, M. A., Vosevich, M. S., & Albert, K. (2022). Seven lessons in inclusive campus design: Learn how the university of Kentucky developed its first DEI facilities and spaces plan. Planning for Higher Education, 50(3), 30–43.
Singh, A. A., Nassar, S. C., Arredondo, P., & Toporek, R. (2020). The past guides the future: Implementing the multicultural and social justice counseling competencies. Journal of Counseling and Development, 98(3), 238–252. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12319
Format
Individual Presentations
Biographical Sketch
Dr. Barnett earned her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision, her M.S. in Community Counseling at Mercer University, and her B.S. in psychology from Howard University. She has been teaching in higher education for over fifteen years. She teaches human services, psychology, and clinical mental health counseling courses. She has been a guest lecturer at Clark Atlanta University and Gardner-Webb University in their respective counseling programs. Dr. Barnett has been a presenter at both the American Counseling Association & Southern Association for Counselor Education & Supervision, both internationally and nationally, in the areas of work & aging, diversity & inclusion, employee engagement, wellness & self-care, counselor burnout, assessment, organizational culture, and student perception of critical feedback. Dr. Barnett has also served on the editorial board for the Journal of Equity in Behavioral Health Therapy. As a Licensed Professional Counselor in the State of Georgia, Dr. Barnett possesses over 15 years of clinical experience in adult inpatient care, outpatient treatment, partial hospitalization, utilization review, assessment, and post-master supervision. Additionally, Dr. Barnett volunteers as a Rape Crisis Advocate at the Grady Health System, providing various direct and administrative tasks to assess, coordinate, and deliver support services and trauma-related interventions to the survivors of sexual violence, including domestic violence. She is a National Certified Counselor (NCC) and Approved Clinical Supervisor. She maintains professional memberships with the American Counselor Association (ACA), Southern Association of Counselor Education & Supervision (SACES), Georgia ACA, Licensed Professional Counselor Association of Georgia (LPCA-GA), Collaboration for Excellence in Educational Quality Assurance (CEEQA), and the National Organization for Human Services (NOHS).
Location
Room 161
Start Date
3-8-2024 10:05 AM
Recommended Citation
Barnett, Nadia LPC, NCC, ACS, "Don’t talk about it, be about it: Advocating for Inclusive Campus Environments" (2024). National Cross-Cultural Counseling and Education Conference for Research, Action, and Change. 22.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/ccec/2024/2024/22
Don’t talk about it, be about it: Advocating for Inclusive Campus Environments
Room 161
The multicultural and social justice counseling competencies offer a comprehensive framework to consider in the counseling program’s relationship with its students. In this session, participants will recognize the action potential of inclusivity, discuss the physiological and cognitive inclusion examples within counseling programs, evaluate their campus environments, and make recommendations towards inclusivity based on the Inclusive Campus Design themes. Counseling students can develop their advocacy skills in support of creating and maintaining an inclusive learning environment.
Description
As we enter the year 2023, it has become clear that advocacy can no longer be an extracurricular activity for the counseling profession. Over the past few years, our professional organization, American Counseling Association, has advocated for non-discrimination, human rights, immigrants, refugees, and communities of all religious faiths, among other socio-political concerns, taking a stance for social justice. In this vein, it seems fitting that counselor educators, counselors, and counseling students operate in spaces that align with this calling.
The multicultural and social justice counseling competencies offer a comprehensive framework to consider in the counselor-client relationship to address injustice. It includes the (a) intersection of identities, (b) oppression and mental health, (c) socioecological perspective, and (d) balancing individual counseling with social justice (Ratts, Singh, Nassar-McMillan, Butler, & McCullough, 2016). This knowledge is emphasized in the curriculum and aligned with the professional identity development of budding counselors. This perspective can be mapped onto the counseling program’s relationship with its students to further our advocacy.
Enhancing the inclusivity of counselor programs requires inwardly reflecting on how the institution manages its diversity, commitment to equity, and inclusive acts. The inclusionary perspective that advocacy brings to the counseling profession can lend itself to the enhancement of campus climates. Successful implementation of an inclusive campus requires programs to a) be aware of biases, b) foster an environment for critical self-reflection, c) understand challenges before determining solutions, d) create an inclusive process for recommendations, e) collaborate with the campus community, f) and acknowledge that diversity, equity, and inclusion are dynamic and evolving priorities (Ocampo, Vosevich, & Albert, 2022). Counseling students can develop their advocacy skills through leadership on their respective campuses in support of creating and maintaining an inclusive learning environment.
Learning Outcomes: