Counselor–Advocate–Scholar Model: Changing the Dominant Discourse in Counseling

Abstract

Discourse represents the languages, ideas, and images that together shape one's understanding of the world. In counseling, discourse determines clinical practice. The authors posit that dominant discourse in counseling promotes an intrapsychic status quo that discounts the relationship between individuals and their environment, which often leads to office-bound interventions that are inadequate in addressing issues of oppression. The counselor–advocate–scholar model (Ratts & Pedersen,) is introduced to expand current discourse to include advocacy and research to better address systems of oppression.