I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Dawn Irons, a counselor educator with over 15 years of experience in private practice. She shared some eye-opening insights into the rising influence of social justice ideology in counseling programs and how it can negatively impact religious clients. Dawn explained how today's counseling students receive very biased training that pits protected classes against each other. Many programs aggressively push LGBTQ causes while dismissing religious beliefs as something to "correct." This prevents therapeutic self-exploration and infringes on clients' cultural rights. We discussed the importance of informed consent so people can choose counselors who respect their worldview. Dawn also offered practical tips for religious counselors to stand up professionally while avoiding legal trouble. Overall, it was an enlightening discussion about protecting diversity of thought in counseling. Dawn wants to equip therapists to serve people of faith well, not treat them as problems to fix. Let me know what intrigued or surprised you most! And stay tuned - we talked about Dawn's upcoming book that dives deeper into these topics from a clinical perspective.
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Dawn’s Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawn-irons-m-a-lpc-18673b39/
Website: http://www.hopeharbortx.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HopeHarborDC
Book: IndoctriNation: How Woke Ideology Hijacked the Counseling Profession
#SocialJusticeInCounseling #CulturalDynamicsInCounseling #FaithBasedCounseling #ReligiousBeliefsInTherapy #NavigatingSocialJusticeIssues #CounselorEthics #InformedConsentInCounseling #DiversityInCounseling #ProfessionalValuesInCounseling #CounselingBookRelease
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00:09 - Supporting Parents of Gender Confused Children
00:03:15 - Changes in Counseling Training
00:07:05 - Importance of Religious Identity
00:12:16 - Informed Consent in Counseling
00:16:26 - Building Trust and Respect
00:16:46 - Importance of Informed Consent
00:17:41 - Mutual Respect in Counseling
00:19:23 - Addressing Ethical Complaints
00:24:52 - Power of ACA and State Legislative Codes
00:29:55 - Writing a Book for Awareness
00:33:50 - Importance of AMHP and CEU Training
00:34:51 - Addressing Power Plays and Voicing Concerns
00:36:59 - Redefining Social Justice and Advocacy
00:39:22 - Unity Around Trans Issues
00:42:19 - Socially Constructed Problems
