Social Justice in Group Work
This book spotlights the unique contribution of the Journal for Specialists in Group Work to the social justice literature, and of group work to a social justice agenda. Although the term social justice may be relatively new in the counseling and psychology literature, the underlying values attention to inequities, advocacy, and empowerment strategies for members of marginalized and oppressed populations are not new in group work. Group leaders have been attending to these concerns all along, and group work itself is an ideal venue for the realization of social justice concerns. However, until now there has been a limited amount of scholarship on group work with a stated focus on social justice.
This groundbreaking book emphasizes action through a practical approach, featuring research and case studies of social justice group work in community and school settings. Chapters highlight how group workers infuse social justice consciousness into their work, address social justice issues, and implement social justice practice. Authors review the history, practice, and future opportunities for social justice advocacy within group modalities. They also address guidelines for the training and supervision of practitioners engaging in social justice group work.
This book was published as a special issue of the Journal for Specialists in Group Work.
Anneliese A. Singh is an assistant professor in the Department of Counseling and Human Development Services at The University of Georgia. Her research, clinical, and advocacy interests include: LGBTQQ youth and adults, Asian American/Pacific Islander counseling and psychology, multicultural counseling and social justice training, qualitative methodology feminist theory and practice, and empowerment interventions with survivors of trauma. Dr. Singh is the Past-President of the Association for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues in Counseling. She is the chair of the ASGW Human Rights and Social Justice committee. Dr. Singh is a co-author of Qualitative Inquiry in Counseling and Education.
Carmen F. Salazar is an associate professor in the Department of Counseling, Texas A&M University-Commerce. She has published extensively on such topics as multiple cultural identities, professional development of racial and ethnic minority counseling faculty, diversity-competent group leadership, and mentoring in counselor education. Dr. Salazar served as co-chair of the Association for Specialists in Group Work Human Rights and Diversity committee (2003-2009) and is now serving on the ASGW executive board as Treasurer (2009-2012). Her most recent book is Group Work Experts Share Their Favorite Multicultural Activities: A Guide to Diversity-Competent Choosing, Planning, Conducting, and Processing.
First published 2011
by Routledge
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Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
2011 The Association for Specialists in Group Work
This book is a reproduction of the Journal for Specialists in Group Work, vol. 35, issues 2 & 3.
The Publisher requests to those authors who may be citing this book to state, also, the bibliographical details of the special issue on which the book was based.
Typeset in Times New Roman by Taylor & Francis Books
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN13: 978-0-415-57681-9
Disclaimer
The publisher would like to make readers aware that the chapters in this book are referred to as articles as they had been in the special issue. The publisher accepts responsibility for any inconsistencies that may have arisen in the course of preparing this volume for print.
Contents
Anneliese A. Singh and Carmen F. Salazar
Anneliese A. Singh and Carmen F. Salazar
Amy Nitza, Bagele Chilisa, and Veronica Makwinja-Morara
Krista M. Chronister and M. Meghan Davidson
Michael D. Brubaker, Michael Tlanusta Garrett, Edil Torres Rivera, and Kevin A. Tate
lore m. dickey and Michael I. Loewy
Christine Suniti Bhat
Angela D. Coker, Dixie Meyer, Rachelle Smith, and Amber Price
Paula T. McWhirter, Rockey Robbins, Karen Vaughn, Natalie Youngbull, Derek Burks, Sadie Willmon-Haque, Suzan Schuetz, Joyce A. Brandes, and Andrea Zainab Omidy Nael
Richard Q. Shin, Jennifer Rogers, Amalia Stanciu, Melany Silas, Claudette Brown-Smythe, and Brenda Austin
Eric C. Chen, Lina Budianto, and Kimberly Wong
Theodore R. Burnes and Katherine L. Ross
Manivong J. Ratts, Loni Anthony, and KristiAnna Nicole T. Santos
Kathryn Newton
Krista M. Malott, Scott Schaefle, William Conwill, Jennifer Cates, Judy A. Daniels, and Michael DAndrea
Edward A. Delgado-Romero and Yi-Chen Wu
Kristopher M. Goodrich and Melissa Luke
Pamela O. Paisley, Deryl F.Bailey, Richard L. Hayes, H. George McMahon, and Marc A. Grimmett
Farah A. Ibrahim
Delini M. Fernando and Barbara R. Herlihy
Danica G. Hays, Patricia Arredondo, Samuel T. Gladding, and Rebecca L. Toporek
Anneliese A. Singh and Carmen F. Salazar
Since the special issues were published, the following contributors have changed their status:
Theodore R. Burnes is now based at Alliant International University, Los Angeles, California, USA
Michael Tlanusta Garrett is a counselor and private consultant in North Carolina, USA
Michael I. Loewy is now based at the California School of Professional Psychology, San Francisco, California, USA
Anneliese A. Singh
The University of Georgia
Carmen F. Salazar
Texas A&M University-Commerce
Social advance depends as much upon the process through which it is secured as upon the result itself.
~ Jane Addams
It has been our pleasure and honor to serve as guest co-editors of the two-part special issue of the Journal for Specialists in Group Work ( JSGW ) on Social Justice Issues in Group Work. Now it is doubly rewarding to introduce the contributions to the special issue as a book, Social Justice in Group Work: Practical Interventions for Change . This opportunity to publish the contributions as a book holds potential to bring the message of the special issue to a larger readership. We thank our numerous authors and dedicated reviewers for their tireless work, their vision, and commitment to the spirit of social justice group work. We especially thank Dr. Sheri Bauman, JSGW Editor-in-Chief, who supported our vision of this project.
The overarching goal for the project is to emphasize action through a practical approach to social justice group work. To achieve this goal we sought answers to these questions: How are group leaders infusing significant social justice consciousness into their work in either small or large ways? What are they doing to address social justice issues, and to implement social justice practice? What ideas and recommendations do they have for future social justice group work? To allow more room for discussion of the hands on aspects of social justice group practice and to prevent repetition we asked the authors to refrain from including lengthy definitions of social justice in each individual contribution. Below are definitions frequently cited and discussed in the counseling literature.
