ABSTRACT
Students assess community needs via discussions with community members and mental health professionals in the fields of mental health and and/or addiction counseling, identify potential gaps in mental health and/or addiction counseling services, and create an advocacy plan to address the gap in needed services. While students are given two or three 30-minute sessions during class to meet and debrief with the course instructor, they are expected to spend significant time outside the classroom working on their project. Following group presentations, students will engage in a semi-structured discussion regarding their group process and the project’s impact on their understanding of social justice and advocacy work. Depending on time limitations of the class, this discussion may take place immediately following the group presentations or the class directly following.
