3. Write a letter to an elected official (e.g., senator, congressional representative) focused on a topic related to mental health advocacy.

/in /by

Please no plagiarism and make sure you are able to access all resources on your own before you bid. Main references come from American Psychiatric Association. (2013) and/or Kress, V. E., & Paylo, M. J. (2019). You need to have scholarly support for any claim of fact or recommendation regarding treatment. Grammar, Writing, and APA Format: I expect you to write professionally, which means APA format, complete sentences, proper paragraphs, and well-organized and well-documented presentation of ideas. Remember to use scholarly research from peer-reviewed articles that are current. Sources such as Wikipedia, Ask.com, PsychCentral, and similar sites are never acceptable. Please remember that resources used must be from peer-reviewed resources such as academic journals. The assigned textbook and the DSM-5 are required for all assignments (i.e., cite and reference the textbook and DSM-5 in every assignment). As a general rule, web sites are not peer-reviewed except those which are online journal articles. Therefore, it is advisable for you to avoid using these websites as resources. Walden Library offers many peer-reviewed articles which pertain to the topics covered. While not required to use these articles, you should select a couple which you find interesting and which support your critical thinking and analysis.

Please follow the instructions to get full credit for the discussion. Please look at all the attachments. I need this completed by 11/10/20 at 7pm.

Discussion – Week 11

Advocating for Positive Social Change

Advocacy is an important consideration for future mental health professionals. This week, you and your colleagues will explore ways to increase public awareness related to mental health issues to enact positive social change.

To prepare for the Discussion:

  • Review this week’s Learning Resources.
  • Review the videos of your faculty sharing their experiences with advocacy on behalf of the profession of mental health counseling.
  • Select one of the following advocacy      methods:

1. Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper. Your letter must focus on a topic related to mental health advocacy.

2. Write a social media post focused on a topic related to mental health advocacy.

3. Write a letter to an elected official (e.g., senator, congressional representative) focused on a topic related to mental health advocacy.

For week 11, students may write a letter to the editor, write a letter to a public official, or write a social media post. For ALL of the options, students need to include the following:

*Identify the group for whom you are advocating

*Identify the diagnosis related to the group for whom you are advocating

*Identify and discuss the need for the advocacy for the group

*Identify and discuss a potential solution to the problem that you identified and for which you are advocating

Each one of these components needs to be fully addressed. Each section needs to be fully developed. For example, simply saying “I am advocating for women who are depressed, and awareness and education is needed” IS NOT SUFFICIENT. I cannot emphasize enough that each section needs to be fully developed.

By Day 3

Post a picture of your completed advocacy (i.e., a photo of the letter you have written or a screenshot of your social media post).

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.

Required Resources

Hanisch, S. E., Twomey, C. D., Szeto, A. C. H., Birner, U. W., Nowak, D., & Sabariego, C. (2016). The effectiveness of interventions targeting the stigma of mental illness at the workplace: A systematic review. BMC Psychiatry, 16, 1–11. doi:10.1186/s12888-015-0706-4

American Counseling Association. (n.d.). Government affairs: Take action. Retrieved December 10, 2019, from https://www.counseling.org/government-affairs/actioncenter

Required Media

Walden University (Producer). (2020e). Professional advocacy: Mental health counseling [Video file]. Minneapolis, MN: Author.