Pathway 7 Macro–Mesolevel Change

Abstract

Pathway 7 focuses on systems-level change processes. Melissa, Sandra, and Jane reiterate the importance of assuming a contextualized lens in building shared understanding of client lived experiences by considering carefully social determinants of health and opening possibilities for micro-, meso-, and macrolevel change. They reiterate the approach to social justice introduced earlier in the book that centres justice-being, encouraging therapists to lean into decolonizing themselves and their practices. Then they introduce a framework for (a) justice-seeking, which involves advocating for structural–societal change and (b) justice-doing, which focuses on institutional–organizational change. Jane draws readers into consideration of macro–mesolevel change in Pathway 7 through thoughtful and honest reflections on their own lived experiences at the intersections of systemic power, institutional policies, relational accountability, and personal cultural identities. Jane begins by reflecting on their white, settler lineage and the ways in which they have benefitted from the economic, political, social, and psychological violence of colonialism. They extend their reflections on their positionality to critically examine constructs of genders, gender identities, sexes, sexualities, and pronouns in the context of the current oppressive and exclusionary discourses that misconstrue gender as only two sexes. Jane’s reflections lay a foundation for the intent of this pathway to advance a more just, accessible, inclusive, diverse, and equitable society for all people and peoples.

Co-Authors

Melissa Jay (she/her), PhD, RPsych, is a cisgender nehiyaw (Cree) member of the Métis Nation of Alberta and lifelong student of yoga philosophy. She is a cisgender, able-bodied woman who moves through the world with white-passing privilege. She is a psychologist and associate professor at Athabasca University. Her work is centred in reciprocity and relationship, decolonized healing, anti-oppressive practices, and the integration of ancient wisdom and psychology. Her intention is to share trauma-informed, culturally responsive care, alongside her ongoing collaborative research exploring relational accountability, Indigenous methodologies, and ethical engagement with community.

Sandra Collins (she/her), PhD, is a co-editor of this book. She writes from the perspective of a feminist, lesbian, cisgender, woman with an invisible disability, who is a white, retired professor, and inhabits a privileged social class. Over the 25 years of her academic and professional career, she focused her research, writing, and teaching on cultural responsivity and social justice in theory, research, and practice. This is her fifth book on these topics, two of which were awarded the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Counselling biannual book award. She also received a silver medal for best e-book design by the Independent Publisher Book Awards. 

Jane Arscott (they/them or none), PhD, is a white settler who is a lifelong guest on unceded and unsurrendered territories inhabited by the nêhiyaw (Cree), the Dene, Nakota, and others for millennia, including the Métis. They use the pronouns they, their, and them or none, and identify as nonbinary, although they are seen as an embodied female. Their identity is problematic in the workplace, especially in relation to power and decision-making spaces. They founded a university major in Human Services in a degree-completion undergraduate program for adult learners in 1998, which imparts genuinely open, flexible, lifelong learning done in a good way.

Citation

Jay, M., Collins, S., & Arscott, J. (2025). Pathway 7 Co-creating macro–mesolevel change. In S. Collins and M. Jay (Eds.), Decolonizing health, healing, and care: Embodying culturally responsive and socially just counselling (Chapter 7.0). Counselling Concepts. https://doi.org/10.71446/xd30495763