Social Class and Classism: Reflections on Counseling

Abstract

Disadvantaged groups are at greater risk for mental health issues compared to privileged groups. A rich variety of studies has explored factors leading to disadvantageous positions in societies and how it affects the life of individuals. These studies report that individuals may be in a disadvantageous position in terms of factors such as religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, poverty and age. Of the major factors leading to disadvantageous positions, social class and classism seem to be neglected in spite of the fact that disadvantaged persons suffer from the consequences of the socio-economic gap between the social classes. Neglection of these issues withhold disadvantaged persons from mental health services. For this reason, mental health professionals should consider the socio-economic and class-based parameters of the clients. This study is a review aiming to improve psychological counselors' awareness of the concepts of social class and classism and the reflection of these concepts in the counseling process. First, the concepts of social class and classism were defined, then the resulting difficulties that could be experienced in the counseling process were mentioned. Finally, suggestions were presented to counselors.

Keywords

• social class
• classism
• counseling

Sosyal Sınıf ve Sınıfçılık: Psikolojik Danışmadaki Yansımaları

Abstract

Dezavantajlı gruplar, dezavantajlı olmayan bireylerle karşılaştırıldığında ruh sağlığı bakımından daha yüksek risk taşımaktadır. Dezavantajı oluşturan unsurun ne olduğu ve bireylerin hayatını nasıl etkilediği konusunda birçok araştırma yapılmıştır. Bireylerin dini yönelim, etnik köken, cinsel yönelim, engellilik, yoksulluk, yaş gibi faktörler bakımından dezavantajlı konumda olabilecekleri sonuçlarına ulaşılmıştır. Sosyal sınıf ve sınıfçılık kavramları ise toplumsal tabakalar arasındaki sosyo-ekonomik refah farkının dezavantajlı bireylerin hayatına olumsuz yansımalarına rağmen araştırma sahasında ihmal edilmiş görünmektedir. Sosyal sınıf farklılıklarının ve bu farklılıkların yarattığı etkilerin ihmal edilmesi, dezavantajlı bireylerin ruh sağlığı hizmetlerinden işlevsel biçimde yararlanamamasına ortam hazırlamaktadır. Bu nedenle ruh sağlığı uzmanlarının hizmet sundukları grupların sosyo-ekonomik statülerini ve sınıfsal parametrelerini göz ardı etmemeleri gerekmektedir. Bu çalışma psikolojik danışmanların sosyal sınıf ve sınıfçılık kavramları, bu kavramların psikolojik danışma sürecine yansıma biçimleri hakkındaki farkındalıklarının iyileştirilmesinin amaçlandığı bir derleme çalışmasıdır. İlk olarak sosyal sınıf ve sınıfçılık kavramları tanımlanmış, ardından psikolojik danışma sürecinde yaşanabilecek zorluklara değinilmiştir. Son olarak psikolojik danışmanlar için öneriler sunulmuştur.

Keywords

• sosyal sınıf
• sınıfçılık
• psikolojik danışma

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