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Manivong Ratts, PhD, LMHC, NCC
Professor, Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC)
Biography
Dr. Ratts is a full tenured professor in the clinical mental health counseling program at Seattle University. He has held various leadership roles in the College of Education ranging from program director, department chair, and associate dean.
Dr. Ratts received his Ph.D. in Counseling from Oregon State University (OSU). He holds an associate degree from Yakima Valley Community College, a bachelor's degree in psychology from Western Washington University, and a master's degree in counseling from OSU. In 2018, he was awarded a Doctorate of Humane Letters, Honors Causa from Lewis and Clark College for his work in advancing multiculturalism and social justice in the counseling profession and was the graduate commencement keynote, Advocating for Social Change in a Toxic Political Climate.
Dr. Ratts is a licensed mental health counselor (L.M.H.C.) and past President of Counselors for Social Justice, a division of the American Counseling Association (ACA). His research is in the area of multiculturalism and social justice. He is one of the nation’s leading scholars in the area of social justice counseling. He coined the term “social justice counseling” and argued that social justice is a “fifth force” among counseling paradigms, following the psychoanalytic, cognitive-behavioral, humanistic, and multicultural traditions.
Dr. Ratts chaired a committee which developed Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC) for the counseling profession with Drs. Anneliese Singh, Sylvia Nassar-McMillan, Kent Butler, and Rafe McCullough. The MSJCC serve as a guide to help counseling professionals develop multicultural and social justice competence. The competencies have been adopted by the American Counseling Association (ACA), the leading organization for professional counselors and they are used in counselor training programs across the country. Dr. Ratts has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Counseling and Development and the Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology. He has published in various peer reviewed journals on social justice counseling and is lead author of the following books Counseling for Multiculturalism and Social Justice: Integration, Theory, and Application (2014) with Dr. Paul B. Pedersen and ACA Advocacy Competencies: A Social Justice Framework for Counselors (2010) with Dr. Judy Lewis and Dr. Rebecca Toporek. He has produced two video series through Alexander Street Press titled Four Approaches to Counseling One Client: Medical, Intrapsychic, Multicultural, and Social Justice Counseling Paradigms (2011) and Five forces of Counseling and Psychotherapy: Psychoanalytic, Cognitive-Behavioral, Existential-Humanistic, Multicultural, and Social Justice (2013).
Recent Grants and Awards
Pride Foundation Grant, $2,500. Principal Investigator, 2009
Professional Development Grant, $1,000. Seattle University. Principal Investigator, 2011
Professional Development Grant, $1,000. Seattle University. Principal Investigator, 2009
Research Grant $2,000. Seattle University. Principal Investigator, 2008
Professional Development Grant, $1,000. Seattle University. Principal Investigator, 2008
Pride Foundation Grant, $3,500. Principal Investigator, 2007
Oregon State University, LGBT Grant, $16,000, Co-investigator, 2005
Teaching, Learning and Technology Grant, $1,000. Harper College. Principal Investigator, 2001
International Studies Grant, $1,000. Harper College. Principal Investigator, 2000
WSCA Service Award (State), 2009
WACES Multiculturalism and Social Justice Advocacy Award (Regional), 2008
LGBTQ Ally Award, Seattle University (Institutional), 2008
AMCD Professional Development Award (National), 2008
WACES Emerging Leader Award for Multicultural Education, Global Diversity/Social Justice (Regional), 2006
Counselors for Social Justice O’Hana Award, American Counseling Association (National), 2006
Graduate Teaching Assistantship, Counselor Education, Oregon State University (Institutional), 2003-05
Human Rights Award, Oregon Counseling Association (State), 2004
Culture Student Award, College of Education, Oregon State University (Institutional), 2004
Graduate Teaching Assistantship, E.O.P. Department, Oregon State University (Institutional), 1998-99
Oregon Laurels Graduate Scholarship, Oregon State University (Institutional), 1998
Courses Taught
Research and Teaching Interests
Dr. Manivong J. Ratts has two lines of research: (1) multicultural and social justice competent counseling and (2) LGBTQ courtesy stigma.
Multicultural and Social Justice Competent Counseling
This area of research is focused on integrating multicultural and social justice competencies into counseling theory, practice, and research. Moreover, the research in this area addresses the need to deliver multicultural and social justice competent counseling and balancing individual counseling with social justice advocacy. Research in this area include:
- Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies
- Counselor-Advocate-Scholar (CAS) Model
- Advocacy Competencies Self-Assessment Survey (c)
LGBTQ Courtesy Stigma
This area of research focuses on the stigma heterosexuals experience as a result of their association with LGBTQ individuals. Specifically, this area of research explores the barriers heterosexuals experience to being a LGBTQ ally. Current research in this area focuses on:
- LGBTQ courtesy stigma experienced by heterosexual youth
- LGBTQ courtesy stigma experienced by school staff
- LGBTQ courtesy stigma experienced by heterosexual parents
Student Research Team
Below are students who are currently a part of his research lab. Graduate counseling students who are interested in being a part of Dr. Ratts's research lab can contact him directly at: vong@seattleu.edu.
Myra Flor-Arpin Myra is a 3rd year school counseling student at Seattle University.
Michael Matsumoto: Michael Matsumoto is a third year graduate student at Seattle University for a M.ED in School Counseling. He received his undergraduate degree at The University of Washington in Sociology. Michael believes in cultivating an accepting and supportive school environment for all students, including those from historically marginalized or underrepresented communities.
Paula Olson: Paula is from the Seattle area and graduated from Sammamish High School and completed her undergraduate degree at Washington State University. She has a family with two sons that are 7 and 9. Her career for many years has been in sales and marketing with large companies. In 2013, she decided to pursue a career change back to counseling, which had been a passion and degree focus during her undergraduate years. She is currently completing her internship at Nathan Hale High School and expects to graduate with a Master's degree in School Counseling from Seattle University in June, 2016.
Maryam Brown: Maryam is a third-year graduate student at Seattle University majoring in Community Counseling. Prior to attending Seattle University, she earned a master's degree in Early Childhood Studies with an emphasis on Teaching Adults from Walden University and a bachelor's degree in French Translation from Allameh Tabataba'i University in Iran. She is currently serving her practicum/ internship at Navos Mental Health Solutions in Burien, Washington. She is passionate about working with individuals who have experienced trauma, specifically as the result of social inequity and injustice. Her research interests include the intersectionality between gender norms, dominant discourse, and mental health as well as multicultural and social justice oriented counseling practices.
Publications
*Ratts, M.J., Kaloper, M., McReady, C., Tighe, L., Butler, S.K., Dempsey, K., & McCullough, J. (2013). Safe Space Programs: Creating a Visible Presence of LGBTQ Allies in K-12 Schools. Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling, (7), 387-404.
Lewis, J.A., Ratts, M. J., Paladino, D. A., & Toporek, R. L. (2011). Social justice counseling and advocacy: Developing new leadership roles and competencies. The Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology, (3)1, 5-16.
Ratts, M. J. & Wood, C. (2011). The fierce urgency of now: Diffusion of innovation as a mechanism to integrate social justice in counselor education. Counselor Education and Supervision, 50(3), 207-223.
Ratts, M. J. (2011). Multiculturalism and social justice: Two sides of the same coin. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 39(1), 24-37.
Chang, C.Y., Crethar, C., & Ratts, M.J. (2010). Social justice: A national imperative for counselor education and supervision. Counselor Education and Supervision, 50, 82-87.
*Ratts, M. J., Anthony, L., & Santos, K. N. T. (2010). The dimensions of social justice model: Transforming traditional group work into a socially just framework. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 35(2), 160-168.
Ratts, M. J. (2009). Social justice counseling: Toward the development of a “fifth force” among counseling paradigms. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education, and Development, 48, 160-172.
Ratts, M. J. & Hutchins, M. (2009). ACA Advocacy Competencies: Social justice advocacy at the client/student level. Journal of Counseling and Development, 87, 269-275.
Ratts, M. J., DeKruyf, L., & Chen-Hayes, S.F. (2007). The ACA Advocacy Competencies: A social justice advocacy framework for professional school counselors. Professional School Counseling, 11(2), 90-97.