| Description |
Mental health professionals are in a unique position to understand the effect of social injustices on individuals and groups in society. Furthermore, counselors can intervene to disrupt injustices and promote social justice. Scholars have suggested that providing social justice training to graduate level trainees could significantly expand mental health professionals' social justice agenda to better advocate for macrolevel changes. The social justice literature provides some understanding of how to train graduate students in social justice interventions. However, little is known about a) what components of training facilitate trainees' development and b) how trainees are shaped by these practical experiences of engaging in social justice work. This study centered on how trainees develop due to their training at the Women's Resource Center (WRC) at the University of Utah, a feminist multicultural, social justice-oriented training site. A grounded theory qualitative design employed the use of interviews, focus groups, follow-up interviews, and feedback groups with prior trainees from the WRC. Of the 65 prior trainees from the WRC, 20 women participated, representing a diversity of academic training backgrounds, ethnic, religious, and socio-economic class identities. Trainees experienced three distinct and overlapping growth processes: (a) doing your own work, (b) honoring your voice and others' voices, and (c) challenging power to affect change. This growth occurred through the interaction of three tensions: (a) trainees' fit with the WRC's intentions, (b) trainees' reactions to contradictions of the WRC training, and (c) trainees' experiences external to the WRC. These tensions facilitated growth during the training year, and women who participated in the WRC training experienced continual growth, specific to: (a) maintaining their commitment, (b) building collaborative relationships in their contexts, and (c) personalizing their social justice commitment. Based on findings, implications for social justice training programs include the need to: (a) bridge theory and practice, (b) address the paradox of social justice training, (c) grow as a social justice training program, (d) provide developmentally appropriate training, and (e) prepare trainees for social justice training. |
