Social Justice Forum: Counseling

Social Justice Forum: Counseling

“Interrupting Systemic, Structural and Institutional Racism on Human Health and Well-Being: Advocating for a Better Normal”

Research Presentations in Trinity’s Counseling Program

Thursday, April 21, 2022
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm, Payden Academic Center

“Interrupting Systemic, Structural and Institutional Racism on Human Health and Well-Being: Advocating for a Better Normal” is the theme this year for Trinity’s counseling program, in the School of Nursing and Health Professions. On Thursday, April 21, 2022, Trinity students will reflect on this theme as they share their research presentations as part of Counseling Awareness Month.

Research will be presented by the Kaiser Permanente/Trinity Practitioner Scholars, clinical mental health and school counseling candidates, and guests’ presenters. They will address a number of questions, including:

  • What are the expressive and creative arts therapies, and how can these techniques be used to heal trauma?
  • Should racism be declared a public health crisis?
  • What are the psychosocial implications of banning books in the public school curricular and in libraries?

“COVID-19 has exposed to the general public the wealth and health inequalities by race/ethnicity and social economic status,” said Dr. Cynthia Greer, associate professor of counseling at Trinity and the leader of this new initiative and the lead faculty member of the Research Initiative on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Trauma at Trinity. “As scholar practitioners, we recognize that race is a social construct that is part of an insidious caste system; the disparities are intentional inequities. The systems have been effective in the execution of these inequities. Therefore, counseling candidates must be prepared to be ‘interrupters,’ change agents, truth tellers, and reconcilers, in the dismantling of white supremacy in these various systems.”

In fall 2021, Trinity, with financial support from Kaiser Permanente, launched a new initiative to provide professional development to clinical mental health counselors and school counselors in Wards 7 and 8 that focuses on trauma-informed and trauma-responsive techniques with an emphasis on expressive arts and creative arts therapy. Dr. Greer is leading this initiative and the first cohort of Kaiser Permanente/Trinity Practitioner Scholars will be present their research at the April 21 forum.

Dr. Greer noted, “In their respective courses, Kaiser Permanente/Trinity Practitioner Scholars and counseling candidates have been engaged in examining the social justice competencies and in this examination, there is recognition that as practitioners, faculty and candidates for the degree in counseling, all have a degree of ‘privilege.’ Therefore, there is a need to examine how privilege effects the ability to be aware of implicit bias and the impact of internalized oppression, in order to be able be culturally competent social justice advocates and/or ‘interrupters.'”

For more information about the counseling forum, the Research Initiative on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Trauma at Trinity, and the Kaiser Permanente/Trinity Practitioner Scholars initiative, contact Dr. Cynthia Greer, greerc@trinitydc.edu

Media relations contact: Ann Pauley, pauleya@trinitydc.edu

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