Social Justice Lecture Series

Delila Owens, Ph.D., LPCC., LSC, Professor, The University of Akron

I have integrated social justice advocacy into my teaching for nearly twenty-two years. My career has been influenced by numerous outstanding advisors and mentors. Several of the elders in my family have always been social justice advocates. My goal is to always have students engage in experiential activities that foster critical thinking. I encourage them to stay involved in the profession and be committed to evolving. Understanding how social ills (e.g. racial and social discrimination, justice system, education disparities, economic inequality, etc.) impact a person’s mental health is critical. I am currently teaching multicultural counseling. Participating actively in the Akron and surrounding communities is one of our class projects. Engaging with the community and participating in discussions can promote a deeper understanding of the psychological effects of oppression. Ultimately, fighting social injustice is about matters of the heart.

Fawn Gordon, Ph.D., LPCC., Assistant Professor, Ursuline College  

As didactic instruction alone may not adequately prepare socially-just counselors, it is important to actively engage students in social justice-oriented practices (Donald & Moro, 2014). At Ursuline College, I am one of the faculty co-advisors for our Chi Sigma Iota Chapter, Chi Alpha Theta, which has been proactive in creating opportunities for social advocacy engagement beyond the classroom. For example, in April 2025 students and faculty attended the Ohio Counseling Association’s (OCA) Legislative Advocacy Day (LAD). During LAD, together we learned about current legislation impacting the profession and the lives of those we work alongside, moving directly into action as we communicated our views to local legislators. After this event, we shared our experience with faculty and students who were not in attendance, increasing their awareness of legislative issues and how to address them. Additionally, each year during Pride Month we create signs to post around campus, aiming to create visibility and stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.  While these two examples alone are not exhaustive, they demonstrate feasible and meaningful ways to engage in action-oriented social justice efforts in collaboration with students.

Program Description:

In the counseling profession, we are guided to continuously develop multicultural competence, increasing awareness of and affirming the various identities and lived experiences of individuals within the broader sociopolitical context (American Counseling Association [ACA], 2014). This is also reflected in the training standards set by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP, 2024). At the root of social justice, mental health professionals are committed to creating equity among all people, actively challenging inequities across legal and social systems (Crethar & Winterowd, 2012; Sue et al., 2022). Subsequently, it is imperative that counselor educators work to prepare students to work effectively with culturally diverse populations which includes acknowledging social justice issues and actively working to address them (Chapman-Hilliard & Parker; Ratts et al., 2016).

The primary objective of this lecture series was to enhance learning beyond what is covered in our traditional counseling courses. According to the feedback received, this objective was successfully met. This virtual series included two parts. The topics addressed were equity in education and legislation related to the work of counselors. The programming was primarily geared to master's level counseling students at the University of Akron and Ursuline College.

Our lecture series speakers

The virtual presentations took place on September 5th at 7:00 EST and September 12th at 7:00 EST. We are grateful for the funding. The funding provided us with the opportunity to bring in guest speakers to address pertinent topics. Based on the information presented at the social justice lecture series and the program evaluations, the workshops were successful.

Dr. Shazia Naurin -Visiting Assistant Professor, John Carroll University

Stephanie Hammond -Director of School Counselors, Akron Public Schools

Stephanie Alexander-Jones, Director of Wrap Around Services, Lorain City Schools

On a scale of 1-5 (1 = not at all, 5 = very much), how effective was this series in increasing your knowledge of social justice issues in counseling?

As a result of attending the series, please describe the likelihood you will apply knowledge learned to clinical, research, or additional professional settings (1 = not at all, 5 = very much).

As a result of attending the series, what settings do you plan to apply knowledge gained (check all that apply)?

1. Clinical practice
2. Research
3. Academic
4. Other

During the evaluation process we asked participants to identify key social justice issues impacting the work of counselors. Some of the responses are listed below.

Please describe the most pressing social justice issue impacting the work of counselors.

(Feedback from participants)

1. Social determinants of health/mental health

2. Given recent changes in public policy, encouraging advocacy among counselors and their clients/students for the marginalized groups in our country.

4. Discrimination

5. The prioritization of power and making money in our governments for generations and generations has been and continues to be what we struggle against. This prioritization goes against putting the health of people as the main goal.

6. I believe the most pressing issue pertains to the limitations in helping those in the LGBTQ community who are adolescents. Additionally, equally pressing are the restrictions adolescents have in obtaining mental health services.

8. Advocating against concerning bills under consideration! I found the advice on reframing policies for when talking to representatives, particularly reframing legislation around pronouns in school as an issue of forming identity in adolescence

9. House and Senate bills that are directly limiting our ability to provide ethical care to our clients.

10. The motions being pressed through Senate Bill 1 (specifically for school counselors)

11. HB172 feels the most concerning and alarming for our field. Taking away the youth’s right to mental health support and crisis intervention without parental consent provides absolutely no benefits to either side of this coin.

12. For community mental healthcare, I feel that reductions in Medicaid are the biggest issue facing our communities.

13. systemic healthcare bias

14. Overall, mental health access should be available, and it is heartbreaking to see the different bills that some are attempting to implement.

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