Discussion: Power and Privilege

Advanced human services professional practitioners who regularly engage in critical reflection about their own power and privilege are often more likely to recognize and challenge practices, procedures, and policies that perpetuate discrimination and oppression. Practitioners who do not engage in this type of critical reflection may unknowingly do harm to service users, their organization, and their community. For instance, a practitioner may unconsciously impose their values and beliefs on a service user of a different culture, condone long-standing organizational practices that are discriminatory, and fail to recognize opportunities to effect systemic change to better serve the historically oppressed populations in their community.