The second social justice competency calls on counselors to engage in an ongoing critical examination of how issues power, privilege, oppression, etc., affect their own lives. In the case example, if the group facilitator were more aware of how he is privileged as a straight man, it might help him to understand why his gay male client is afraid to trust the other group members. Maybe he would be more reluctant to “diagnose” the client as having an underdeveloped gay identity and accept that the client may not reach the same levels of trust and safety that the other members do. A group facilitator who is aware of issues of privilege would use this opportunity to acknowledge and empathize with how the client has experienced oppression as a gay man in U.S. society. In addition, by acknowledging the various privileges he has experienced as a straight man (i.e., the ability to walk down the street holding hands with a partner without fear of harassment or death), the facilitator is also modeling this skill for the other straight members of the group. Ultimately, the group may develop a level of cohesion that could not be accomplished without engaging in this open and honest dialogue.