- Social justice is at the very core of multicultural counseling competencies, making it
essential that professionals have both ability to perceive accurately ecological factors that
influence clients, and the skills to challenge and address systemic barriers that impede the
client’s growth, development, quality of life, and psychological well-being.
• - The multicultural counseling competencies addressed oppression and racism by identifying
such issues as privilege, values, stereotyping, and oppression as key to personal awareness,
to knowledge of the effect of sociopolitical influences on self-concept and identify, and to
understanding institutional obstacles and diagnostic cultural biases as impediments to social
justices.
• - The multicultural counseling competencies have been criticized for not fully integrating
issues of social justice. The competencies provide minimal attention to operationalizing the
work toward social justice.
• - Multicultural counseling competencies and social justice/human rights go hand in hand.