The Professional Counselor | Volume 13, Issue 4 471 encouragement can help CITs to feel more confident as advocates. Although we intentionally kept the group open for accessibility, new introductions and catching up took time away from the group plan and content. We do not have data to explicate a group like this, but we hope our master’s and doctoral peers feel encouraged to start similar groups within their own programs. Finally, we wrote this article more than a year after our group ended; although we relied on our reflection sheets and notes from our experience, we are aware that there may be gaps in our recollections. For future groups, we would be interested to complete an empirical study through an IRB in order to collect data regarding peer-led SJA groups. Screening or surveys before and after the group could not only provide valuable data, but also offer guidance for attendees even before the group starts and an opportunity for reflection after the group ends. Our decision to keep our group open led to attrition of members; thus, empirical studies might also investigate factors that contribute to student engagement. Collecting quantitative and qualitative data may provide further insight into effective strategies for describing and encouraging students to engage in concrete SJA skill development. Conclusion The experience of facilitating an SJA group was new, challenging, transformative, and important to our growth as CITs and budding counselor educators. As counselors, we understand our ethical duty to engage in SJA; however, we have not had adequate training in tangible strategies to utilize when advocating on behalf of our clients. The S-Quad model is an important guide that helped facilitate our understanding of how to implement SJA as mental health professionals. As co-facilitators and coauthors, we learned a great deal about ourselves as developing social justice advocates, CEs, and CITs and confronted fears parallel to those of the group members. Although SJA is a growing focus in the counseling literature, there is a great deal of research and training that must continue to occur so current and future counselors can develop their social justice advocate identities. Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure The authors reported no conflict of interest or funding contributions for the development of this manuscript. References Abrams, S. (2019, January). 3 questions to ask yourself about everything you do [Video]. TED Talks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zJHwOwirjA American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA code of ethics. https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/ default-document-library/2014-code-of-ethics-finaladdress.pdf?sfvrsn=96b532c_8 Austin, J. T., II, & Austin, J. A. (2020). The counselor educator’s guide: Practical in-class strategies and activities. Springer. Chang, C. Y., Barrio Minton, C. A., Dixon, A. L., Myers, J. E., & Sweeney, T. J. (Eds.). (2012). Professional counseling excellence through leadership and advocacy (1st ed.). Routledge. Chapman-Hilliard, C., & Parker, B. (2022). Embodied social justice learning: Considerations for curriculum development and training in counseling programs. Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology, 14(1), 77–93. https://doi.org/10.33043/JSACP.14.1.77-93 Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. (2015). 2016 CACREP standards. https://www.cacrep.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/2016-Standards-with-citations.pdf
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