Traditional counseling models often struggle to address the complex experiences of persons with disabilities (PWD), particularly those with intersecting marginalized identities. They often focus on individual deficits rather than societal barriers (Brodt, 2022; Saia et al., 2024). This presentation offers implications of Disability Justice, a framework created by multiply marginalized disabled People of Color, for clinical and counseling psychological practice. Disability justice moves beyond the limitations of the disability rights movement and the medical model by centering principles such as intersectionality, interdependence, collective access, and the leadership of those most impacted (Berne et al., 2018). It challenges the notion that people with disabilities need to be "fixed," viewing disability as a social construct shaped by ableism and other systems of oppression like racism and capitalism (APA, 2022).


For clinical practice, integrating disability justice means shifting from individual intervention towards addressing the structural violence and systemic injustices faced by clients living with disabilities (Brodt, 2022). It requires psychologists to recognize disability as a political and cultural identity, apply intersectional analyses to understand compounded marginalization, and ensure practice is maximally inclusive and accessible. Approaches like Disability Affirmative Therapy can help fill knowledge gaps and provide culturally sensitive care, along with disability justice principles


From a global standpoint, disability justice highlights how disability is often produced and shaped by transnational forces, including colonialism, racial capitalism, and globalization, particularly affecting communities in the Global South (Dispenza, 2020). A disability justice-informed clinical practice must consider these global-local connections, recognizing the wisdom and experiences of people with disabilities worldwide and advocating for collective liberation that leaves "no body/mind is left behind." This framework offers a transformative approach to counseling, clinical, community, and health psychology that emphasizes universal interdependence and strives for a more just and equitable world for all.