On Advocacy, Empowerment, and the Growth of the Self

A Reflection on Vikki Reynolds and the Critical Social Worker Podcast

I recently had the pleasure to once again engage with the Critical Social Worker Podcast. I always enjoy the discussions that occur throughout the brilliant minds showcased on the platform. They are always eye-opening and mind-opening, and never fail to give me new and interesting perspectives I could never have considered on my own. 

In this episode, I witnessed guest speaker Vikki Reynolds discussing therapy, activism, and the connections between them. Specifically, Vikki discussed the importance of therapy as a practice learning and growing from and with the world around that it exists within. Our society is one focused on the white, cisgender, heterosexual male, especially the middle-aged and middle-to-high-income-bracket ones. As we grow as a culture and learn to encapsulate a variety of diverse worldviews, it is absolutely essential that our therapeutic practices continue to as well. 

Many of Vikki’s ideas resonated deeply with me. She advocates for many different and important causes, and fights to ensure the safety and well-being of as many people as possible. Vikki is a strong supporter of forming spaces that are not just inclusive of minority groups, but also serves to empower them and encourage their growth. As part of that, there is a needed emphasis on educating both yourself and others on subjects of oppression and bias, preferably by listening to underrepresented minority groups who are actively being affected by these mechanisms. All in all, it is essential that we treat others in a kind, respectful, and culturally sensitive manner, taking into account their unique backgrounds, perspectives, experiences, and mechanisms of oppression. 

While Vikki’s discussion was largely focused in the field of therapy, we can bring these concepts with us into the field of social work as a whole. They are just as important in every field, but especially with the wide variety of folks who will be affected by our work as social workers. Practicing these skills can help us learn to embody many of the traits that make a strong social worker. 

The most obvious of these is, of course, advocacy and empowerment. It is impossible to properly advocate for a minority group without first being informed about the unique mechanisms of oppression that they experience. And it is critical that you learn about it from members of the minority, and not those who don’t have firsthand knowledge. Members of minority groups know best what is needed for them to actually benefit from your advocacy. 

Learning firsthand from minority groups also allows you to avoid advocacy just for the sake of advocacy. Your advocacy needs to come from a framework of wanting to help people and make the world a better place. If your advocacy comes solely from the desire to make yourself look better, or to make you feel more important than your peers, then you’re doing something wrong. If you’re learning from members of the minority groups, then you can learn what actually helps, and what aspects of your advocacy to focus on. 

This builds into the idea of taking a holistic approach to social work. If you let yourself build off the diverse perspectives of those with experiences and identities who differ from you, then you will be able to craft a holistic approach that benefits everyone. When we open our minds to being able to learn from various diverse perspectives and minority groups, we benefit everyone, even those who aren’t part of those or other minority groups. 

All of this also ties into the ideas of revolutionary social work that we’ve been developing during our time with Professor Stettler. At the core of revolutionary social work is challenging ourselves to dig deeper.  And by engaging with a variety of diverse perspectives, we challenge our own assumptions and internalized beliefs, and allow ourselves to grow. 

These concepts of advocacy and empowerment are very near and dear to my heart.  By learning from the diverse viewpoints of the people around us, we can grow as social workers and as people. I’d like to encourage all of you who read these to read further into Vikki and her work, and reflect on how you can use these ideas to learn and grow yourself.