Reverberations of 2020: The Role of the U.S. Racial Reckoning on Multicultural Engagement in Counseling

Authors

Dr. Donya D. Wallace, Palo Alto UniversityFollow
Dr. Teceta Tormala, Palo Alto UniversityFollow
Dr. Shreya Vaishnav, Palo Alto UniversityFollow
Wen Guo, Palo Alto UniversityFollow

Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3930-5146; https://orcid.org/0000-000; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3212-02131-9835-2538;

Author Biography

Dr. Donya Wallace is an assistant professor in the counseling department at Palo Alto University. Dr. Wallace is Licensed as a Professional Counselor and Supervisor and has over 20 years of experience in clinical mental health. Her research focuses on self-awareness in counselors in training, the strong Black woman archetype and mental health disparities in the African American community

Dr. Teceta Tormala is an Associate Profession at Palo Alto University. Dr Tormala is a social psychologist whose work centers on understanding how identity and culture shape the lived experience of individuals, and how systems can facilitate wholeness, wellness, and liberation.

Dr. Shreya Vaishnav is an Assistant Professor at Palo Alto University and holds a Ph.D. in Counselor Education. Her teaching, research and clinical interests are focused on microaggressions, multicultural counseling, and immigrant mental health.

Wen Guo is a graduate student in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Palo Alto University.

Document Type

Article

Keywords

critical consciousness, multicultural competency, sociopolitical climate, counseling

Subject Area

Clinical Supervision, Counselor Education

Abstract

The racial reckoning of 2020 and 2021 had profound effects on people. This study uses a retrospective design to examine differences in critical consciousness prior to 2020 and contemporarily among counseling students and professionals and whether critical consciousness predicts multicultural competence. Participants reported their current level of multicultural competence, and pre-2020 (retrospective) and current (contemporary) levels of critical reflection, critical motivation, critical action, and race-based critical consciousness. Participants reported higher levels on the contemporary critical consciousness measures than their retrospective assessments, suggesting that the high-impact events of 2020 raised their critical consciousness. There was no relationship between the critical consciousness measures and multicultural competence. These findings underscore the importance of sociopolitical events on clinically relevant outcomes among helping professionals.

Public Significance Statement

This research demonstrates the relevancy of the socio-political environment to counselor training and preparation and has implications for increasing critical consciousness and multicultural competency among counselors in training

DOI

https://doi.org/10.70013/dcjtb1e8

Recommended Citation

Wallace, D. D., Tormala, T., Vaishnav, S., & Guo, W. (2025). Reverberations of 2020: The role of the U.S. racial reckoning on multicultural engagement in counseling. Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision, 19(4), 1-16.