Essay Instructions: Society, Mental Health, and Welfare
According to Wronka, “human rights is the cornerstone . . . of social justice” (Wronka, 2008, p. xix). Throughout history, human beings have felt the need to develop guiding principles. Examples include the Ten Commandments of Judaism, the Eight Beatitudes of Christianity, the Five Pillars of Islam, the Eightfold Path of Buddhism, the Humanistic Manifesto, the Inupiaq Values, and the Golden Rule. Clearly, community leaders deemed it necessary to determine core principles, rules, and/or values to ensure the existence of a productive and healthy community. These principles, rules, or values then served as the foundation for laws and for punishing or constraining those who chose to violate them. The principles have formed the justification for combating atrocities and inequities, whether through social justice, legal action, criminal prosecution, international collaboration, or other forms of change.
Wronka speaks to the journey of social justice, specifically, and while this course is not a social justice course, social action, leadership, and advocacy certainly can and are used in the name of social justice and in righting society’s wrongs. In this course you explore how the theories and processes related to social change, leadership, and advocacy may be applied to such ends as societal change to address social injustice. Thus his words above apply to this course.
As Wronka implies, then, values are central to social change. It is your values that give rise to passion around problems and issues that you believe need changing and that motivate you to take action. Therefore this course begins with you reflecting on your values and the passion that they elicit around issues about which you care, as a human being and as a counselor educator.
To prepare for this assignment:
• Review the Preface and Chapters 1, 2, and Appendix B in the course text, Human Rights and Social Justice: Social Action and Service for the Helping and Health Professions. Pay particular attention to problems or issues that reflect your values and resonate for you??"problems or issues that could “benefit” from social change, leadership, and advocacy and contribute to a society that is committed to the mental health and welfare of its members. (faxed)
• Review Chapter 1 and Chapter 3 in the online text, Social Action: A Mandate for Counselors. Consider problems or issues related to the profession that could benefit from social change, leadership, and advocacy and contribute to a profession that supports a society committed to the mental health and welfare of its members. (attached)
• Review Appendix A, "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” in the course text, Human Rights and Social Justice: Social Action and Service for the Helping and Health Professions. Reflect on the principles that guide the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration. Then, think about how upholding these rights might contribute to a society that supports the mental health and welfare of its members. (faxed)
• Identify two problems or issues that arouse your passion, one related to the counseling or human services profession and one related to society. Think about the values that give rise to your passion for these issues and how addressing these issues could contribute to a society that is committed to the mental health and welfare of its members and a profession that supports that commitment.
With these thoughts in mind:
Write a 300 word description of one problem/issue related to the counseling or human services profession, and one societal problem/issue, each of which arouses your passion. Then, describe the values that give rise to your passion for these problems/issues. Finally, explain how the upholding of these values might contribute to creating a society that supports the mental health and welfare of its members, remembering the broad conceptualization of mental health and human rights.
Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references
There are faxes for this order.
