Social Class and Classism in the Helping Professions: Research, Theory, and Practice

In this text author William Ming Liu presents theory and research on the impact of classism and social class on mental health. He provides an original frameworkthe Social Class Worldview Modelfor exploring each persons individual and subjective life experiences. These experiences form a perspective that is unique to the individual. The author then helps the reader integrate this realization into the study of poverty, economic inequality, wealth, and the often overlooked implications of greed, materialism, and consumerism for a more complete understanding of social class and classism. Lius original Social Class Worldview ModelRevised provides a theoretical framework for integrating each individuals reaction to social class and classism experiences and addressing that worldview within counseling and psychology work. Readers receive guidance in additional ways to act as advocates for their clientsregardless of affluencethrough a study of privilege, social justice, empowerment, and competence.