Charting the Center and the Margins: Addressing Identity, Marginalization, and Privilege in Counseling

In order to address the inequities experienced by individuals who experience multiple forms of marginalization, counselors must be able to make linkages between identity, marginalization, and privilege. Equally important is the need to balance individual counseling with advocacy. This perspective requires counselors to understand how identities intersect and the ways in which a counselor's and client's statuses as members of privileged and marginalized groups influence the therapeutic relationship. These expectations are based on the new Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC), which were recently endorsed by the American Counseling Association. To address these challenges, and to operationalize the MSJCC, the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies—Assessment Form (MSJCC-AF) is introduced. This form incorporates intersectionalities and advocacy with counseling.