Advocating for Advocacy: An Exploratory Survey on Student Advocacy Skills and Training in Counseling Psychology

Advocacy is considered a core competency within the field of counseling psychology, however more attention is needed to the training and assessment of advocacy competence for counselors-in-training. This study utilized Ratts and Ford's (2010) Advocacy Competencies Self-Assessment survey to measure self-perceived advocacy competence of master's and doctoral students within counseling (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs-accredited) and counseling psychology (American Psychological Association-accredited) programs. An exploratory factor analysis suggested 3 underlying factors in self-reported advocacy competence: Alliance Building and Systems Collaboration, Action and Assessment, and Awareness Building. Master's and doctoral students displayed marginal differences in Advocacy Competencies Self-Assessment scores with doctoral students scoring slightly higher in the Awareness Building factor. Respondents' perceived level of advocacy importance was a significant predictor of advocacy competence. Program characteristics (advocacy-related resources and opportunities to engage in advocacy activities) were also significant predictors of perceived competence. We propose a developmental model of advocacy competency acquisition as a basis for future research on assessment and training of advocacy skills.