Incorporating Feminism Into Rehabilitation Counselor Education

Abstract

Purpose:The author describes how rehabilitation counselor educators can incorporate the feminist perspective in teaching rehabilitation counselors-in-training by exploring history, core values, and training methods of feminism.Method:Based on a literature review, the author compares philosophy and concepts of rehabilitation counseling and feminism, reviews the models of feminist supervision, and explores its applicability to rehabilitation counseling.Results:Feminism coincides with the philosophy of rehabilitation counseling in that both share similar perspectives that emphasize equity and justice. When incorporating feminism, the philosophical and conceptual tenets of rehabilitation counseling can be effectively trained through the practices of the rehabilitation counselor such as empowerment and advocacy for clients. Specifically, as a method to disseminate the core values of rehabilitation counseling, feminist supervision provides a structured model to train rehabilitation counselors-in-training.Conclusions:The feminist approach can be incorporated as a viable training method for rehabilitation counselor educators in that feminism provides a useful framework in which not only to view gender, power, and diversity issues but also to train philosophy and core values of rehabilitation counseling.