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Oct 30, 2023

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1 Reflection Paper: Working with Marginalized Communities Brittany M. Hill Walden University COUN 6753: Career Counseling Dr. Janee Steele April 16, 2023

2 Reflection Paper: Working with Marginalized Communities Many factors can influence a person’s career development, even as a child. Career development begins in childhood and can be affected by factors including “social structure, historical change, socioeconomic organization and conditions, employment practices, school, community, and family” (Peila-Shuster, 2018). When working with children and adolescents that are impacted by one or more of these factors, their education in the school setting is frequently compromised, which will impact their career development into adulthood. It is important for counselors to consider different situations that can impact a child when assisting with career development. This paper will outline an advocacy statement when working with children and adolescents who have experienced trauma, how a counselor can remain culturally sensitive with this population, and different strategies for advocacy. Advocacy Statement Career development begins in childhood according to many career development theories (Peila- Shuster, 2018). When a child has experienced trauma or lives below the poverty line, it is possible that their career development will be impacted into adulthood. In my current job at an elementary school, I work with children who have experienced or are currently experiencing trauma. The children that I work with frequently display behavior issues in the school setting, so they are not able to access the education aspect of school. One way that I currently, and will continue to, advocate for this population is providing as much support as possible to children and adolescents who have experienced trauma. I currently work with these children on learning different social and emotional skills to maintain in school and other social environments, which can ultimately help with career development. Another way that I plan to advocate is to spread awareness on the difficulties of career development in children. I plan on spreading awareness to educational aspects that might impact any child’s career development, i.e., teaching them about career development and money management while they are still in school.

3 Culturally Sensitive Career Counseling According to Ratts (2017), marginalization is a disadvantage that an individual faces based on their identity. Marginalized people experience economic, social, political, and cultural marginalization due to factors that are outside of their control (Niles & Harris-Bowlsbey, 2022). In the public school system in my area, many children experience trauma or live below the poverty line. After graduation, I plan on working with children in my area who are impacted by one or both of these factors. I plan on advocating for services that would benefit the children or the entire family system to encourage positive career development. It will be important as a counselor to consider any outside factors that can impact the clients that I will serve, whether that be the child or the entire family system. I will consider the values of each client and how they may impact their future career development. Advocacy Strategies For the population chosen for this assignment, the specific advocacy needs are for the children who have experienced trauma or live below the poverty line to get assistance to access educational resources that will assist with career development. When looking at a population from a counseling view, it is important to consider multiculturalism and social justice (Ratts, 2011). The concepts of multiculturalism and social justice are interconnected and are integral parts of the counseling field (Ratts, 2011). In keeping multiculturalism and social justice in mind, some specific advocacy strategies that I would use with this population would be to assist with the social and emotional needs of the children. For example, a child that experiences trauma or who has experienced trauma may exhibit behavior issues in public settings that could impact their access to career development education that children who have not experienced trauma may have. Children who have any trauma background will need extra assistance working through any thoughts and feelings they have related to their trauma, which can be given through counseling and further education.

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4 Conclusion To advocate for the population of children who have experienced trauma, it is important to consider the limitations they face when in social settings. As a future counselor, I currently advocate for mental health accessibility for children who experience trauma and assist these children in learning skills they will need to access education and career development strategies for the future. Any members of a marginalized community face a disadvantage based on their identity and can experience economic, social, political, and cultural marginalization that they cannot control (Niles & Harris-Bowlsbey, 2022).

5 References Niles, S. G., & Harris-Bowlsbey, J. (2022). Career development interventions (6 th ed.). Pearson. Peila-Shuster, J. J. (2018). Fostering hope and career adaptability in children’s career development. Early Child Development and Care, 188 (4), 452-462. Doi:10.1080/03004430.2017.1385610 Ratts, M. J. (2011). Multiculturalism and social justice: Two sides of the same coin. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 39 (1), 24-37. Doi:10.1002/j.2161- 1912.2011.tb00137.x Ratts, M. J. (2017). Charting the center and the margins: Addressing identity, marginalization and privilege in counseling. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 39 (2), 87-103. Doi:10.17744/mehc.93.2.01