Date of Award

Summer 8-22-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology

Organizational Unit

Morgridge College of Education, Counseling Psychology

First Advisor

Pat Garriott

Second Advisor

Trisha Raque

Third Advisor

Jennifer Bartee

Fourth Advisor

Shimelis Assefa

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Keywords

Social justice advocacy, Training, Psychology, Psychologists-in-training

Abstract

Social justice advocacy is an imperative aspect in the field of psychology; thus, it is important to understand how it is effectively taught to psychologists-in-training. The purpose of this study was to learn how a community mental health agency incorporated social justice advocacy into their doctoral psychology training curriculum. This study addressed three research questions: 1) How does a community mental health training site incorporate APA’s multicultural guidelines and social justice advocacy into its training program curriculum? 2) How does a community mental health training site model social justice advocacy in their services? 3) Based on trainees’ experiences at this community mental health training site, what did they learn regarding practicing social justice advocacy?

This study used an educational criticism and connoisseurship method that incorporated descriptions, interpretations, evaluations, and thematics (DIET). Using the Instructional Arc and Social Cognitive Career Theory of Social Justice Interest and Commitment (SCCT) as theoretical frameworks, the research questions were answered with nine themes. Results from this study captured how a training site dedicated teaching trainees how to identify and address systemic barriers in pursuit of social justice. By providing supportive supervision and clear guidance on how to practice social justice, trainees were able to build their self-efficacy and interest to implement social justice advocacy in their future careers. An anticipatory framework highlighted how training directors may incorporate aspects from the results to bolster their training curriculums to support the development of social-justice-oriented psychologists.

Copyright Date

8-2026

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Cristine M. Izaguirre

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

244 pgs

File Size

1.1 MB

Download

Available for download on Sunday, September 24, 2028



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