10: Action Outside of the Clinical Encounter

The focus of this chapter is on efforts in support of a client or an issue outside of the counseling setting. The opening vignette shows how political rhetoric fuels fear and promotes divisiveness and conflict in our everyday lives and the lives of our clients. These dynamics are the product of White supremacy. While most of a counselor's work takes place in a private office, our actions in the community, within the profession, and government make important contributions to structural change. The terms ally, advocate, activist, accomplice, and co-conspirator distinguish different roles to support efforts to dismantle White supremacy. These roles, like counseling itself, are inherently relational and promote critical awareness and direct action. However, there are significant differences in the targets for change and types of changes in the pursuit of decolonization and antiracism.