This article presents the authors' response to the reactions by Blustein, Catraio, Coutinho, and Murphy (2008), Chwalisz (2008), Conyers (2008), and Elliott and Johnson (2008) to their articles in "The Counseling Psychologist" on integrating health psychology, vocational psychology, multicultural psychology, and social justice (Maguire, McNally,…

Local, national, and global events that dominate today's media (e.g., war in Iraq, genocide in Darfur, historical lack of confidence in national political leadership, Katrina/Rita aftermath, etc.) represent open and ever-present personal invitations to "wake up" to the complex challenges that increasingly define communities across…

Although counseling psychology has discussed vocational issues, health concerns, diversity, and social justice, discussion of these topics has typically been narrowly focused. This article uses the example of persons with HIV (PWHIV) to demonstrate how these areas can be intertwined. The counseling psychology literature is also examined to…

The confluence of prevention, multicultural competence and cultural responsiveness, and social justice is embryonic but holds much promise. The author uses the stages of change model to heighten awareness of how counseling psychologists are situated to provide well-developed system-level interventions and to examine the organizational and…

Beginning with calls for methodological diversity in counseling psychology, this article addresses the history and current state of qualitative research in counseling psychology. It identifies the historical and disciplinary origins as well as basic assumptions and underpinnings of qualitative research in general, as well as within counseling…

Several fields within psychology, including counseling psychology, are struggling to promote a social justice agenda. Most efforts concentrate on a critique of existing values, assumptions, and practices. Whereas the level of critique is quite sophisticated, the level of social justice practice is rather embryonic. Critical psychologists have been…

This commentary highlights the innovative inclusion of social action groups in the 2001 Houston Conference and expands on their significance to the conference and the field. If the 2001 Houston Conference has correctly forecast a (re)establishment of social action as a mainstay of counseling psychology, then an in-depth exploration of how we train…

Elizabeth M. Vera and Suzette L. Speight (2003) challenge counseling psychologists to sharpen the field's response to social justice. This challenge is part of a broader effort by critical psychologists who believe that mainstream psychology's values, assumptions, and practices reinforce an unjust status quo. Despite persistent resistance to calls…

For over a decade, there have been increasing efforts in counseling psychology and other areas of applied psychology to understand the role of culture in preventive and mental health services for ethnically, economically, and religiously diverse communities. In this Major Contribution, the authors offer examples of three prevention programs in…

This article presents an overview of the Houston 2001 National Counseling Psychology Conference. The authors discuss the context for the 4th National Counseling Psychology Conference, document the process of decision making about the conference, and examine the content of the conference. The authors also examine a unique feature of the conference,…

It has been fascinating to read and reflect on this set of articles, and it is my belief that the counseling field will be strengthened as a result of this major contribution. Morrow and Beckstead's (2004 [this issue]) introductory article offers a balanced overview of the history related to conversion therapy and highlights recent research and…

The authors briefly note the accomplishments of the Houston 2001 National Counseling Psychology Conference and focus on several questions raised that, in their judgment, have implications for how counseling psychology will continue to develop as a specialty. Noteworthy accomplishments are the following: (a) inclusiveness in content and…

The 4th National Counseling Psychology Conference presented a unique opportunity for our field to share our progress and contemplate future directions. Fouad et al.'s account is a contribution to the documentation of our profession's history. Fouad et al.'s article and the 4th National Counseling Psychology Conference can also be viewed as a…

In response to the article "An Emancipatory Communitarian Approach to Vocational Development Theory, Research, and Practice" by David Blustein, Ellen Hawley McWhirter, and Justin Perry, this author discusses the moral imperative of a social justice approach to vocational psychology. Planning for and directly addressing the inevitable and necessary…

Vera and Speight's (2003) use of the current "Multicultural Competencies" (Sue et al., 1998) to criticize all multicultural cultural social justice interventions may be unfair. The author offers some perspectives on shifting the focus of counseling psychology to marginalized groups but advises that minority status and economic realities may impede…