Workshop Description:
The term “intersectionality” has been utilized very often in the counseling profession over the past several years. Crenshaw (1989) first used the term as a way of understanding how a person’s different identities that may be oppressed or privileged may impact their worldview and how they are perceived by others. And, how some people, who have multiple marginalized identities, their experience of oppression is compounded. When the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC) (Ratts, et al., 2016) were developed, these competencies highlighted how power, privilege, and oppression influence the relationship with clients, students, supervisors, educators, community leaders, etc. However, there are still barriers related to how to utilize an intersectional framework in counseling practice, and specifically as it relates to the LGBTGEQIAP+ community.
Oftentimes, LGBTGEQIAP+ individuals with intersecting identities have been left out and felt excluded within the LGBTGEQIAP+ community, specifically our BIPOC siblings. LGBTGEQIAP+ members who identify as BIPOC often feel invisible in the media and literature regarding their pressing issues. The purpose of this presentation is to highlight the need for BIPOC representation within the LGBTGEQIAP+ community while also highlighting the diversity within the LGBTGEQIAP+ community. The presentation will focus on identifying ways to best advocate for, with, and on behalf of the BIPOC LGBTGEQIAP+ community.
This presentation will promote an intersectional framework (Chan et al, 2018) when working with LGBTGEQIAP+ clients from the BIPOC community. This approach acknowledges and affirms the ways in which gender identity and affectional orientation interacts with other privileged and marginalized aspects of the client’s identity. A four stage framework (Astramovich & Scott, 2020) will be reviewed as a model to promote empowerment and provide a more holistic approach that addresses and affirms all of the clients identities. Additionally, the Socially Just and Culturally Responsive Counseling Leadership Model as well as other templates will be outlined that stress the responsibility of counselors and mental health professionals to proactively engage in anti-oppression, anti-racist activities. The specific action domains for advocating for BIPOC LGBTQIA + clients as described by Parker-Barnes, et al., 2022, will be reviewed.