Values in Practice: Bringing social justice to our lives and work

Within this chapter readers are invited to consider what it means to stand alongside others, in facing and addressing social injustice. The chapter looks at possible ways in which aspiring psychologists might enact values of social justice, from recognising opportunities in everyday interactions, to participation in social activism, to engaging with these issues within all areas of our work and training contexts. We aim to bring to life how such participation might look in practice with the use of case examples, and through our conversations with people who have incorporated such values along their own route to becoming psychologists. We encourage reflection upon our-selves and our roles in relation to the communities we work alongside, bringing in theory from critical community psychology, liberation psychology, and participatory practices. Finally, we offer brief reflections on this type of work, the challenges in facing our own blind-spots, and the need to find support in each other.