Читать книгу Counseling Leaders and Advocates - Группа авторов - Страница 42

Michael D. Brubaker and Andrew W. Wood

I do not see myself as a leader, though I have served in many leadership positions. I see myself as an advocate, and leadership positions are the avenue through which advocacy is implemented.

—Jane Myers, former president ACA, AACE, CSI (Nichols & Carney, 2013, p. 244)

When there was a need for someone to work with persons with AIDS, I did that. When there was a need to work with the homeless, I did that. When there was a need to break down some of the prejudices here in Charlotte, I did that.

—Mary Thomas Burke, former president of CSI and chair of the Counselor Education Program at UNC–Charlotte (Nassar-McMillan, 2001, p. 498)

In these challenging times, it is important to extend thinking and action beyond national boundaries. To be a professional counselor means being a true citizen of the world.

—Courtland C. Lee, former president of ACA, AMCD, IAC, CSI (Gladding, 2011, p. 498)

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Counselor leadership and advocacy are inseparable practices (Sweeney, 2012), which is shown most fully in the lives of those in the field who have changed the counseling profession and, ultimately, the communities we serve. When you read the quotations from noted leaders in the profession, you can see that they were not driven by a personal pursuit of power or notoriety. Instead, these leaders un derstood the current needs in our communities and the world. They responded as advocates to better the lives of others, often mobilizing the resources within the counseling profession.

We begin this chapter with a look at the history of client advocacy and professional advocacy in counseling, noting their inseparable nature. We then describe strategies used in counselor leadership and advocacy that are consistent with servant leadership (Greenleaf, 1970), a philosophy that aligns well with the counseling profession and its leaders (Lewis, 2012). Each of us has the opportunity to advocate for change using these strategies and following the example of our predecessors. In the final section of this chapter, we provide examples of how you may lead and advocate across practice settings.