Cyborg oracles: insights for counseling psychology from the disability justice movement post COVID

ABSTRACT

The COVID pandemic has allowed transformative change that has otherwise faced resistance, and counseling psychology can use the pandemic as a time of reflection and change. Counseling psychology needs to incorporate insights from the disability justice community to create a more liberated world. The manuscript begins with a brief overview of disability justice principles and the relative lack of attention to disability in counseling psychology. An overview of three areas for change is presented: 1) expanding pathways to connection and recognizing humanity’s interdependence, 2) redefining resilience and ensuring that we add ongoing transformative justice to our resilience practice, and 3) persistent access. Finally, the manuscript ends with a conclusion that discusses the importance of fully practicing disability justice, which includes understanding that it will be messy, imperfect, and takes practice. This manuscript is a roadmap to create a more just set of practitioners, teachers, researchers, and social justice advocates, among the many other roles that counseling psychologists take on.

KEYWORDS:

• Disability justice
• social justice
• counseling psychology
• resilience
• accessibility

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Janna Fikkan for her encouragement and feedback during the initial stages of the writing process.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Madeline Brodt

Madeline Brodt, PhD, is an assistant professor at Oklahoma State University in the Counseling and Counseling Psychology Program. Her scholarly interests include social justice (broadly defined) with a particular focus on disability, gender, LGBTQIA+, and racial justice issues. She places particular emphasis on sexual and interpersonal violence, particularly the intersections of culture and trauma.