Advocacy Competency Domains Introduction As a counselor, youwill sometimes be in the role of advocate. An advocate is someonewho acts on behalf of someone else, or who empowers someone tobecome a self-advocate Advocates can act on behalf of individualclients. They can also advocate for issues within an organization,and sometimes for issues within the public arena. Advocates oftenengage with social and political issues. This may be surprising,because most people are drawn to counseling because they want tohelp individuals. However, it’s important to understand thatindividuals are affected in powerful ways by social, political,economic, and cultural factors. Members of marginalized groupssometimes are oppressed in both overt and implicit ways. Counselorsneed to understand societal factors in order to effectivelyadvocate for individuals. Different kinds of advocacy areappropriate for different situations. Read on to see some differentways that a counselor might choose to advocate for a client.Advocacy Competency Domains Chart The Advocacy Competency Domainschart shows ways that a counselor might advocate for a client.There are three broad domains in this advocacy competency chart:client/student, school/community, and public arena. The diagram isdivided into two rows: The top row represents how counselors canwork with an individual or group to makes changes. The second rowrepresents how professional counselors act on behalf of clients todeal with the various barriers they are facing. Whether acting withor acting on behalf, the impact may be at the micro or macro level(Erford, 2014). Client/Student School/Community Public ArenaClient/Student Empowerment Community Collaboration PublicInformation Client/Student Advocacy Systems AdvocacySocial/Political Advocacy Let’s see how this chart applies to aspecific client. Applications This is Jasmine, a 23-year-oldgraduate student. Jasmine feels pressure to excel in her program,especially because she is the only African American student.Jasmine has always been unhappy with her body. She compares herselfunfavorably against her Caucasian mother, a former professionaldancer who is petite and blonde. This past year, Jasmine has lost agood deal of weight, and her body mass index is approaching theofficial categorization for anorexia. She has heard from variouspeople throughout her life that “black girls don’t get eatingdisorders.” When she recently met with an elderly male counselor ather college, he was skeptical that an African American woman couldbe anorexic. Jasmine is confused—and scared because she’s beenfeeling faint and is having trouble concentrating on her studies.This is Stacey, Jasmine’s counselor. Stacey wants to be an advocatefor Jasmine. Here are some possible ways she can do this.Client/Student Empowerment The Client/Student Empowerment level isabout helping clients to contextualize their situations within asocietal context and empowering clients to self-advocate. If Staceywere to choose this level of advocacy, she would begin bydiscussing with Jasmine how gender roles and racial issues haveaffected her negative self-image. Then she would help Jasmine comeup with an action plan to address her eating disorder and hernegative self-talk. She would work with Jasmine to find appropriateresources. Client/Student Advocacy The Client/Student Advocacylevel involves counselors acting on behalf of clients to negotiateissues related to societal factors. If Stacey were to choose thislevel of advocacy, she would begin by discussing with Jasmine howgender roles, racial issues, and other issues related to socialsystems have impacted her negative self-image. Additionaldiscussion regarding her social systems would be important as well,including discussions about her family and her academicself-expectations. Then she would help Jasmine come up with anaction plan to address her eating disorder and her negativeself-talk. She would work with Jasmine to find appropriateresources. Community Collaboration The Community Collaborationlevel involves working with others in a community to make changesthat positively impact clients. If Stacey were to choose this levelof advocacy, she might locate groups on Jasmine’s campus that areworking to promote change related to eating disorders and formalliances with these groups. She would share her knowledge withthese groups, including her understanding of the special needs ofwomen of color with eating disorders. Systems Advocacy The SystemsAdvocacy level is about understanding and smaller systems (likefamilies) and larger systems (like communities) work—and aboutadvocating for change within these communities. If Stacey were tochoose this level of advocacy, she might work with the universitycounseling department to identify gaps in their ability to helpstudents with eating disorders. She might help them develop astep-by-step plan to improve their treatment. In addition, shemight involve Jasmine’s family in her treatment as a way to betterunderstand the situation. Public Information The Public Informationlevel involves distributing information and building awarenessabout issues across disciplines and settings. If Stacey were tochoose this level of advocacy, she might give a presentation onJasmine’s campus about women of color, body image, and eatingdisorders. She might also write an editorial for a local paperabout these issues or start a blog. Social/Political Advocacy TheSocial/Political advocacy level involves advocating for publicpolicy or possible legislative change. If Stacey were to choosethis level of advocacy, she might join a national women’sorganization and get involved with an organizational committee thataddresses eating disorders. As a member of this nationalorganization, Stacey might petition the Department of Education toget more actively engaged in the issue of women of color and eatingdisorders. As you can see, there are many different ways that acounselor can choose to be an advocate. Keep these methods ofadvocacy in mind as you develop your own sense of who you want tobe as a counselor, and think about the ways that you might seeyourself acting as an advocate.

Discussion

A senior adult client presents at your counseling center withsymptoms of depression. Your counseling center has close ties witha senior housing center in your community; a social worker employedat the senior center referred the client to you. The clientrecently experienced a family rejection after revealing apreviously undisclosed relationship with someone from a group notaccepted by the family, and has become increasingly despondent. Theclient indicates a willingness to try counseling but also expressesa desire for you to prescribe \"some pills for depression.\" Theclient remembers being previously prescribed medications by aphysician, but cannot remember what they were. Your client wouldalso like to find part-time work in order to feel more worthwhileand to have a place to go during the day. However, your clientfeels hopeless about being able to do so due to transportation andageism issues.

Answer the following questions in your analysis:

1) What local-, state-, and national-level policies may impedeor enhance your clients' adjustment and access to mental healthcare?

2) What strategies can you utilize in your work to advocate foryour client in this case?