Project Homework: Advocacy Plan
For the Project, you conduct an interview with a professional in your community who works in a sexuality-related job (e.g., pregnancy counselor, sex therapist, OB/GYN) to: i) learn about his or her work, ii) observe how the professional discusses the topic of sexuality, and iii) identify social change related to human sexuality that, from the perspective of the professional, is needed to advance his or her work. Based on this information, you will outline an advocacy plan to address this need.
An advocacy plan outlines a problem that will be addressed through professional advocacy practices. Such a plan should include a description of the problem to be addressed through the advocacy activities, the goal(s) of the advocacy activities, and some specific activities that can be undertaken to make progress toward these goals. This plan should outline specific actions that could be taken by a counselor to effect change at various levels of the social context (e.g., within organizations, in the local community, and in public policy).
Use the following interview guide for your interview:
o Describe the work you do and your work setting.
o What kind of training do you have specific to sexuality?
o What do you find helpful in talking to clients about sexuality?
o What social change related to human sexuality is needed to better serve clients?
o How do you see cultural, gender, and religious considerations impacting the clients you serve?
o What client populations are most difficult for you to work with and why?
The project you submit will be a 10 to 15 pages paper that outlines a plan for an advocacy effort to promote social change. It must include the following:
o A description of common experiences of the client population served (literature review)
o A description of the type of professional you interviewed (what type of work the person does and the organization in which he or she works)
o A summary of your observations regarding how the professional communicates about sexuality (both how he or she communicated during the interview and how he or she describe this aspect of his or her work)
o A summary of cultural, gender-related, and religious considerations discussed by the interviewee and a description of how these relate to current literature
o A description of an area of social change related to human sexuality that the professional indicated would be needed to more effectively do his or her work
o A description of how you would address this specific need through an advocacy plan (should include at least three actions you could take)
o A description of the stakeholders involved and the issues you would need to consider when implementing the plan
DUE TO COVID-19, NO INTERVIEW IS REQUIRED FOR THE INTERVIEW SECTION OF THE FINAL. PLEASE READ BELOW FOR THE REPLACEMENT FOR THAT SECTION.
SAMHSA- Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Students will review the documents on the website page linked above. Instead of the interview segment of the original final homework, the students will, after reviewing this information from SAMHSA, answer the following questions:
o In what ways might something like the Coronavirus (or other epidemic illnesses) impact intimate relationships?
o How might an epidemic/pandemic illnesses, such as the Coronavirus (COVID-19), impact the way that you as a Sexuality Counselor maintain and sustain the therapeutic relationship with your clients?
o Describe at least two ways that you might alter or enhance treatment plans in order to accommodate client needs during an epidemic/pandemic outbreak. Discuss specific interventions and cite the resources that you use from the SAMHSA Coronavirus guidance materials or other sources.
o How has the Coronavirus situation impacted your ideas about Social Change and Sexuality Counseling?
Format your homework according to the following formatting requirements:
o The answer should be typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.
o The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
o Also include a reference page. The Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.
Required Resources
o Course Text: Murray, C., Pope, A., & Willis, B. (2017). Sexuality counseling: Theory, research, and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
o Chapter 10, "Positive Sexuality: A New Paradigm for Sexuality Counseling"
o Article: Beagan, B. L., & Hattie, B. (2015). Religion, spirituality, and LGBTQ identity integration. Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling, 9(2), 92-117. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
o Article: Domínguez, D. G., Bobele, M., Coppock, J., & Peña, E. (2015). LGBTQ relationally based positive psychology: An inclusive and systemic framework. Psychological Services, 12(2), 177-185. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
o Article: Etengoff, C., & Daiute, C. (2015). Clinicians' Perspective of the Relational Processes for Family and Individual Development During the Mediation of Religious and Sexual Identity Disclosure. Journal of Homosexuality, 62(3), 394-426. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
o Article: Ratts, M. J., Singh, A. A., Nassar-McMillan, S., Butler, S. K., & McCullough, J. R. (2016). Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies: Guidelines for the Counseling Profession. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 44(1), 28-48. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
o Article: Ridley, J. (2009). What Every Sex Therapist Needs To Know. Journal of Family Psychotherapy, 20(2/3), 95-111. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.