A Foundation for Advocacy

As the U.S. faces ongoing challenges around issues of inequity, students in the Department of Counseling are developing advocacy skills while making a direct impact on the Omaha community through a newly reimagined course.

"In counseling, we do all different types of advocacy work," said Assistant Professor Dr. Charmayne Adams, who developed the new model for Multicultural Counseling, a course required for all students in the first or second semester of the Counseling program.

"We do one-on-one advocacy work when we’re with a client who has a specific issue like setting boundaries or going for a promotion. We advocate on a public platform by informing legislators who are working to pass laws. Sometimes we advocate if we see a specific group that has a need, but I think that’s a real struggle for students—trying to engage with communities that are different from us. How do we do that in a way that feels genuine and not imposing or performative? This course model creates a structured way for students to do that."

Multicultural Counseling was designed to encourage students to immerse themselves in diverse communities different from their own, but the course had previously involved more self-directed learning. Dr. Adams revamped the course model to emphasize servant leadership, the foundation of advocacy work.

Dr. Adams assigned each student to a small group, and the groups researched and developed advocacy projects designed to serve a marginalized community--either the Latinx Community; Individuals with Disabilities; the African American community; the Indigenous community; the Transgender community; or the Queer community.

"Over the six weeks, it became the students' job to form relationships with the community, to reach out and see what’s already being done," explained Dr. Adams. "The first step was creating a statement of the problem, so they researched and listened to discover a current issue this marginalized community is facing and ask: do I have the resources and time to address it?"

Supporting the Latinx Community was Kate Williams' group's objective. Kate's group connected with the Latino Center of the Midlands, and by spearheading a Facebook fundraiser, provided wellness kits to support the Center's clients through pandemic-related isolation and anxiety.

"This particular course really honed in on understanding how ethnic, racial, and cultural diversity affects mental health, and how we as future counselors can be mindful and respectful in our interaction," explained Kate.

"For me, this course served as the baseline to remind us how important it is to incorporate an individual's complete identity into a therapeutic process, and how equally important it is to read, research, ask questions, and be aware of how much we don't know. Being open to new information, especially information that may contradict our own worldview and give us a broader view of the world, is the key to positive, interactive human connection."