SOCIAL JUSTICE & ANTI-RACISM STATEMENT

Social work holds a longstanding value of upholding and working toward social justice for all individuals. As part of our ongoing efforts to uphold and exceed our Code of Professional Ethics, The Company and owner of Positive Methods Mindful Counseling & Wellness have established the following social justice and anti-racism statement:

Positive Methods Mindful Counseling & Wellness is committed to the promotion of and action in support of anti-hate, anti-racism, and social justice for all people. This Company, the owner Kimberly Sturm, and all who are employed and or contracted by this Company strive to maintain focus on issues of power, privilege, and oppression. We recognize that safety, health, and well-being are equity issues that we are uniquely trained to address. We work hard to support individuals and families with the complex feelings they experience about their lives, goals, and circumstances.

We also acknowledge that racism can be unconscious or unintentional, and that identifying racism as an issue does not automatically mean those involved in the act intended the negative impact. As an anti-racist organization, we vow to purposefully identify, discuss, and challenge issues of race and color and the impact(s) they have on our clients and our communities, their systems, and their people.

In these efforts, we are guided by feminist and multicultural principles summarized by Goodman et al. (2004) as a compass for social justice work. These principles are:

1. Ongoing self-examination, including ongoing vigilance with respect to power dynamics and the assumptions and values underlying views, goals, and commitments.

2. Sharing power, including transparency about power differences, engaging in collaborative processes when appropriate, and fostering the power of marginalized individuals and groups.

3. Amplifying and attending to the voices and experiences of marginalized groups and individuals.

4. Consciousness raising by attending to how individual or group difficulties may be shaped by political, societal, institutional, interpersonal, and other contextual power dynamics.

5. Focusing on people’s strengths and engaging these strengths to address challenges, including working toward social change.

6. Promoting self-determination with the people this company works with and serves by developing tools that are informed by the needs and experiences of the constituent communities.

This vision and the principles guide our program and field’s shared responsibility for ongoing efforts to enact our commitment to diversity and social justice in our professional work.