The transition to a financialized economy has had a devastating impact on workers and consumers and exacerbated wealth and income inequality in the United States and around the world. In this article, the authors explain financialization, a two-fold economic strategy whereby individual corporations invest in the financial market- rather than make…

Social work is uniquely situated among helping professions, as the clinical practice is an extension of ethical responsibility to pursue social justice. Whether in mental health, addictions, child protection, intimate partner violence services, youth and adult homelessness programs, or any number of social work services, the individuals, families,…

Within a system of societal inequities, privilege consists of unearned advantages that are conferred on individuals based on membership or assumed membership in a dominant group. This article describes the relationship between privilege and oppression, dimensions of privilege, characteristics of privilege, costs of privilege, and resistance to…

Courtland Lee is exemplary in his accomplishments nationally and internationally. His academic achievements are notable in multicultural counseling and social justice. His leadership in counseling has been outstanding with his having served as president of the American Counseling Association, the Association for Multicultural Counseling and…

A continuation of Part I, which introduced mental health recovery concepts to family therapists, Part II of this article outlines a collaborative, appreciative approach for working in recovery-oriented contexts. This approach draws primarily upon postmodern therapies, which have numerous social justice and strength-based practices that are easily…

This article reviews the history and current status of counseling in the Czech Republic. Recommendations for advancement of the profession in a postcommunist era are offered, including the incorporation of social justice principals for the benefit of Gypsies and immigrants, collaboration between Czech and non-Czech counselors, and counseling…

A call from the group counseling literature (Brown, 2009) recognizes the need for theoretical and empirical writings that explore the intersection of social justice and counseling practice, as many counselors are unprepared to address the impact of oppression and privilege on group process. The authors explore these issues by making…

Counselors need to learn how to effectively and respectfully enter into communities hit by disasters and create collaborative partnerships with community members. Using critical consciousness theory, the authors describe a humanistic, culturally responsive approach to disaster response counseling for marginalized individuals and communities and…

There is increasing empirical evidence demonstrating the negative impact of racism and other social injustices on individuals' mental and emotional health. Those findings challenge counselor educators and practitioners to address social injustices in professional training programs and communities across the country. This article illustrates a…