2015 Association for Women in Psychology Conference

Advocacy and social justice are concepts that are often mentioned in clinical training to up-and-coming mental health professionals, yet mentorship regarding these topics is often lacking within supervision. Clinical psychology trainees often work in close supervisory relationships to hone their clinical skills and theoretical orientations, which makes it an exemplary arena to discuss advocacy and social/restorative justice at various systemic levels. It is commonly understood that, ethically, supervisors and their supervisees should be discussing issues related to multiculturalism and diversity as related to the trainee’s clients; however, that is often where the discussion ends. What is frequently missing in clinical programs and at practicum sites is a critical and ongoing dialogue related to the intersecting identity categories of both the supervisee and the supervisor as this can greatly impact the supervisory relationship, and consequently the therapeutic relationships that the supervisee has with her or his clients. In order to address this concern, a de-identified, supervision vignette will be presented (via PowerPoint) within the theoretical framework of social dominance theory accompanied by an integration of feminist theory. The supervisory vignette will be utilized to generate understanding and ability of audience members in identifying and predicting: (a) intersecting identity categories, (b) dominant societal patterns, and (c) power differentials – all within the supervisory relationship. Some of the intersecting identity categories in the supervisory vignette are: (a) gender, (b) race, (c) sexual orientation, (d) gender expression, and (e) disability status. After a thorough explanation of the clinical supervision example, the presenter will address how the supervisory relationship can impact the therapeutic relationships that a trainee has with her or his clients. The importance of navigating intersecting identities within clinical supervision as a means of mentoring trainees in advocacy and restorative justice will be a central theme of the presentation.

Current literature (e.g., Jackson & Scheel, 2012) has called for paradigm shifts on multiple ecological levels to incorporate restorative justice into psychology training at the master’s level. Specifically, training programs that currently train master’s level practitioners must begin to metabolize the spirit of restorative justice through various ways of shifting curricula, program philosophies, and learning outcome goals to support counseling and psychology training for master’s-level clinicians in becoming more inclusive of collaboration, multiple perspectives, and navigating intersecting identities. Further, the psychology literature also calls for a change in how accrediting bodies that accredit master’s-level programs begin to place sociocultural and justice issues at the center of their standards in order to accredit programs that have these issues as a central part of their program. This proposed paper presentation addresses the above calls from the psychology literature by introducing as well as discussing the progress of the Master’s in Counseling Accreditation Committee (MCAC), the counseling accrediting arm of MPCAC (Master’s in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council (MPCAC) since its introduction to AWP members at the AWP conference in 2011. MCAC’s Standards of Accreditation directly exemplify the AWP 2015 theme of Restorative Justice and the areas of personal and collective accountability, bolstering feminism in academia, and global reconciliation through collaboration. The presentation has two attendee-centered goals: (a) introducing and discussing the progress of MCAC as an alternative accreditation process at the master’s level; and (b) addressing how MCAC’s master’s level accreditation standards exemplify feminism through program philosophy, evaluation of master’s level training, and principles of doing social justice work. The authors, both current site visitors for MCAC and former members of the MCAC board, will be able to answer attendee questions about the accreditation process and help individuals to understand the value of program accreditation at the master’s level using alternative formats.

Criminal Justice (CRJ) undergraduate students at Bronx Community College (BCC) are striving toward professional careers, such as local, state, and federal law enforcement officers, lawyers, judges, probation and parole officers, and social workers, that provide special restorative justice opportunities. As professionals, our students’ will ultimately accept responsibility for healing and rebuilding their communities. They will also face extraordinary challenges working within a field that thrives on oppressive, patriarchal values that are counterintuitive to the restorative justice perspective (e.g., strict obedience to authority, emphasis on punishment, little support for victims and their families, and lack of rehabilitative services for offenders). Additionally, the majority of our students reside in communities that are themselves in dire need of restorative justice efforts. Most BCC students live in the Bronx, a borough of New York City with a 2.9% increase in murders, 15.2% increase in rape, and 1.5% increase in felony assaults since 2013 (Police Department City of New York, 2014). The Bronx has the highest unemployment rate out of the five boroughs, 12.7% compared to the citywide average of 9.2% (New York City Public Information Office, 2013). BCC is a Hispanic serving institution, with 60.4% Latino and 30.3% Black students (http://www.bcc.cuny.edu/). Thus, our students enter the classroom with admirable aspirations to become community leaders, while simultaneously coping with personal experiences of oppression on a daily basis. As instructors of a learning community for CRJ students, we have a unique and privileged opportunity to help our students promote restorative justice in both their personal and professional lives. We propose a presentation to share and deconstruct our experiences teaching and collaborating with students. In the spirit of the conference theme, the purpose of this presentation is to discuss how we apply a feminist pedagogical approach as part of our own restorative justice mission.

This paper will examine the ongoing process of implementing restorative justice at Holy Names University in Oakland. Our presentation looks at this process from an academic perspective and a disciplinary perspective. Highlighting the voices of two female faculty members representing the Criminology and Philosophy departments, respectively, the Dean of Student Development and Engagement, and a graduate student whose masters thesis is on implementing restorative justice in residence life, this paper seeks to understand how feminism and justice complement each other within an urban university setting founded and run by Catholic nuns. The study examines if and how restorative justice aligns with current justice trends within Oakland and ways in which criminology students might benefit from restorative justice training. It will also consider how restorative justice can be employed in a diverse student body with differing levels of justice comprehension. We will look at the communal benefits and shortcomings of implementing a restorative justice judicial framework within the university overall and how we might extend the model into classrooms as well as boardrooms. Lastly, this panel will highlight blind spots of the RJ movement at this level of education and what future trajectories of restorative justice in post-secondary education might look like. Faculty members will build upon the work of current criminology students whose recent deconstruction of justice programs in the Bay Area has led to compelling questions around agency, silencing, and healing. Additionally, presenters will discuss how the transition from strictly punitive practices towards restorative justice models within the university student conduct system connects to ever-evolving “campus culture” and a growing need to both serve as well as thoughtfully engage a dynamic student population. Building off of recent student research and case studies, our presentation seeks to envision a sustainable university system in line with restorative justice principles and practices.