President's Message

Greetings CSJ Members!

It is with great honor and humility that I step into the role of President of Counselors for Social Justice (CSJ). I want to take a moment to thank Dr. Judy Daniels, immediate past-President of CSJ, for her leadership this past year.  Thank you Judy!

Introduction
I would like to begin by introducing myself. My name is Manivong J. Ratts, Ph.D. For short, I go by “Vong”. I am an assistant professor in the Department of Counseling and School Psychology at Seattle University(SU), a CACREP-accredited program focused on preparing emerging counselors “to be leaders for a just and humane world.” I came to the United States with my family from Laos as refugees in the late 1970’s I share this to say that it is my experience of being a refugee that shapes my social justice beliefs and forms my professional identity. In essence, it is my background, coupled with my belief in the possibility of a better world that led me to pursue a career in academia as a counselor educator. I chose to pursue a career in counselor education because I wanted to transform and expand people’s thinking about how counseling is practiced, and how we can use psychology to promote good in the world. The need to transform how counseling is practiced stems from my belief that the field of counseling and psychology has overemphasized the need to help individuals and families gain insight into their inner world. While insight is important, this often occurs without regard to how environmental conditions such as oppression can influence human development. As a result, clients are asked to change or to make adjustments to their environments rather than change the environments to fit clients

CSJ Board of Directors
For July 2011-July2012, your CSJ Board of Directors include:

  • Dr. Manivong J. Ratts, Seattle University, President
  • Dr. Rhonda Bryant, Albany State University, President-elect
  • Dr. Judy Daniels, University of Hawaii at Manoa, past-President
  • Dr. Hugh C. Crethar, Oklahoma State University, Governing Council Representative
  • Dr. Melissa Odegard, Southeast Missouri State University , Communications Officer
  • Dr. Carlos P. Hipolito-Delgado, California State University at Long Beach, Treasurer
  • Dr. Beth Durodoye, University of Texas at San Antonio, Community Representative
  • Lauren Andrews, Barry University, Orlando, Graduate Student Representative
  • Dr. Jane Goodman, Oakland University, Retired Representative

Overview of CSJ
We are a relatively new organization when you consider that we became an officially recognized division of the American Counseling Association (ACA) on September 27, 2002. In spite of being a relatively new division of ACA, we have made great strides. For example, the ACA Advocacy Competencies is being used with more frequency in the field. We are now seeing more special issues on social justice in the counseling literature [See Special Issues of the Journal of Counseling and Development (Summer 2009) and the Journal for Specialists in Group Work (Fall 2010)]. It is also becoming more common for counselors to explore whether in-office microlevel or out-of-office macrolevel advocacy interventions are necessary when working with clients. In addition, through our partnership with Psychologists for Social Responsibility (PSY-SR), we have the Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology. The journal editors are Dr. Rebecca L. Toporek (San Francisco State University) and Dr. Tod Sloan (Lewis and ClarkCollege).  I encourage you to check out the many articles on social change work if you have not yet had a chance. These are just some of the many great things we have been able to accomplish as an organization. Much of what we’ve been able to accomplish is due to people’s belief in a cause bigger than their own. It is the belief in the possibility of a better world that has transformed the field of counseling and psychology and made us a sustainable resource to society.

2011-2012 CSJ Presidential Theme
As with any new organization there are stages of growth and development. I think it is safe to say that we are past the infancy stage as an organization of visioning, planning and implementing. We are firmly established as an organization. We are strong in our commitment to justice, we are fiscally sound, and we have had strong leadership throughout the organization’s history. All of these factors have allowed us to mature as an organization. The next phase of our maturation as an organization is sustainability and maturity. How can we continue to build on the foundation that CSJ's founders set in place? Where do we want to be 5 or 10 years from now as an organization? How can we as an organization become a more sustainable force in the profession?

These questions lead me to my Presidential theme for the year, “From Marginto Center: Integrating Social Justice into the Fabric of the Counseling Profession.” I believe we need to become more intentional and systematic with how we integrate social justice into the profession. I see us doing this by: (1) transforming counselor education and training; (2) integrating social justice tenets into the revision of the ACA Code of Ethics; and (3) creating new social justice based models and paradigms. Item #3 is based on my belief that we cannot continue using archaic paradigms to resolve 21st century problems. We must also refrain from the practice of revising existing counseling theories, which are often Eurocentrically based, to make them fit with historically marginalized clients. This belief is based on the premise that the fundamental tenets of these theories remain the same.

2012 ACA Conference, San Francisco, CA
I hope to accomplish the above goals by working with ACA leaders and our constituents and through the following CSJ sponsored education sessions at the 2012 ACA Conference in San Francisco, CA:

  • 60 Minute Session: Title: Diffusion of Innovation: A Framework for Gaining “Buy-In” for Social Justice in Counseling and Psychology.

Program Summary: Bringing social justice into the mainstream of the counseling profession can be a challenge. Calls for integrating social justice in counseling has yet to be fully realized in part because ideas that are viewed as a threat to the existing structure of a profession are often dismissed. The challenge for social justice counselors thus becomes how to gain buy-in from a profession that is slow to embrace new ideas. Challenging a profession to break old habits and adopt new ideas and ways of practicing can be difficult. We believe this can be accomplished by using diffusion of innovation (DOI). DOI describes how, why, and at what rate innovations become adopted by an organization or group of people. We will examine how DOI can be used to quell resistance to social justice, which is sometimes manifested in anxieties and fear. DOI is important if social justice is to gain traction in the field.

  • 60 Minute Session: ACA Code of Ethics and Social Justice: A Panel Discussion on Integrating Social Justice into the New ACA Code of Ethics.

Program Summary: Members of the ACA Ethics Committee and CSJ Ethics Committee convene in a timely panel discussion regarding the need to integrate social justice into the current revision of the ACA Code of Ethics. Panelists will offer input regarding areas that the Ethics Code Revision Task Force should consider as well as existing standards that need to be changed to align with social justice. Concrete examples of how to infuse social justice into the Code are discussed. The ethics of integrating social justice into the Code will also be highlighted.

  • 90 Minute Session: ACES Presidents and Social Justice: ACES Leaders Discuss the Relevance of Social Justice in Counselor Education and Supervision.

Program Summary: ACES Presidents and Past Presidents discuss the importance of social justice in counselor education and supervision. There is a sense of urgency to consider the relevance of social justice in counselor education and supervision. Clients are presenting with problems that are connected to larger social, political, and economic conditions. However, counselors are not equipped to deal with this reality due to the lack of a systematic social justice training efforts in counselor education and supervision. Examples of how to integrate social justice into counselor education and the role of counselor education in this process are explored.  Future directions of social justice counselor education are also discussed

  • 90 Minute Session: Title: Dreaming of Possibilities: A Look into the Future of Social Justice and Advocacy in Counseling.

Program Summary: Leaders in the social justice counseling movement convene to discuss the future of counseling and social justice. Panelists look into the future of counseling by discussing their vision of the relevance of social justice in the profession. Panelists will share their insights into how social justice will revolutionize current counseling theories, clinical practices, research and assessment, leadership, policies, and training. Participants will gain insight into the possibilities that exist when they consider the place of social justice in counseling.


I am very excited about the education sessions that we have lined up for the ACA Convention in San Francisco, CA. I hope you are as well. More to come in the future!

Future Planning
I am also interested in creating a taskforce focused on strategic planning. The idea behind this taskforce is to help develop a strategic plan for us as an organization. This is particularly important as we consider our future 2-4-6-8-10 years from now and where we want to be headed fiscally, technologically, and organizationally. If you are interested in serving on this Strategic Planning Taskforce please email me directly at: vong@seattleu.edu. I'm thinking no more than 5-10 people would be sufficient.

I am honored that you have entrusted me, along with the CSJ Board of Directors, to lead this vibrant and growing organization. I hope that throughout my presidential year I will be able to honor your diverse voices. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly should you have any questions or would like to get involved with CSJ.


Respectfully,

Vong