Justice and Peace
Affirmations
By Autumn Collier, LCSW
This year has been one for the ages, and there are still six more months to go. My generation is seeing historic events take place for the first time. Unfortunately, older generations are seeing what appears to be history repeating itself. The war over race has plagued the United States for centuries and is very evident today.
We, at Collier Counseling, LLC, are honored to answer the call to serve. We are especially honored to serve women exclusively, and women of color. As women clinicians of color, we understand the plight of black and brown individuals. We make it a priority to be well versed and educated on the most relevant interventions and how populations of color are affected. We are aware that racial trauma is real and an undertone of this trauma can impact our wellbeing daily. We understand the unspoken stressor that is present when you are the only person of color in the boardroom or classroom. We also understand how important our own self-care is so that we can continue to hold space for and be present to those we serve.
Within our practice, we have multiple disciplines including Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Licensed Professional Counselors, and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists. We all abide by a code of ethics in addition to state laws that regulate our practice. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, I want to share two of our ethical principles that are just as relevant today as when they were first written 60 years ago. They are taken directly from the NASW Code of Ethics. Service is the first core value and the ethical principle states “social workers’ primary goal is to help people in need and to address social problems”. The second core value is Social Justice and the ethical principle is “social workers’ challenge social injustice”. Not only are these our professional ethics, our practice wholeheartedly believes in these values and principles.
It has been inspiring to see inclusive protests globally and stands against racism. While 2020 has been quite a year thus far, I am hopeful 2020 will be THE year. The year for the world to know and recognize Black Lives Matter.