Praise for the First Edition: `One of the best, and clearest, descriptions of the significance of the imposition of "masculine" patterns of thought on a culture... a lucid and non-jargon-fraught account of the strands of thought which make up the feminist approach to and adaptation of psychotherapy′ - The Guardian For counsellors, therapists, trainees and others who want a deeper understanding of how society affects them psychologically, the revised and updated edition of Feminist Counselling in Action is the ideal resource. Drawing on feminist theory, Jocelyn Chaplin points to the deeply entrenched, hierarchical ways of thinking which permeate every level of our lives. The author presents an alternative rhythm model that when applied in counselling increases self-confidence, `wholeness′ and improved relationships. In this model, the counsellor is not seen as the expert or the doctor, and the client is not a patient. They are two equal but different people using `clues′ to understand and improve the life of the client. To illustrate, the author includes vivid case examples throughout.
This fully revised edition of Feminist Counselling in Action shows how the feminist approach can be integrated into the counselling process, and how feminist ways of thinking can be applied to a range of counselling techniques.
Focusing on the practical application of feminist theory to clinical experience, Introduction to Feminist Therapy provides guidelines to help therapists master social action and empowerment techniques, feminist diagnostic and assessment strategies, and gender-role and power analyses to foster individual and social change. This guide is ideal for graduate students enrolled in a techniques of counseling course and practitioners who wish to incorporate feminist therapy into their current approach, including how to apply feminist therapy to both women and men and how to deal with the gender issues of both sexes. Client/Therapist dialogues provide readers with examples of how each technique actually works in a therapeutic session. The text also provides case studies, coverage of ethical issues, and feminist assessment guidelines that show readers how to conduct a feminist assessment with and without using the DSM-IV-TR.
With an emphasis on violence against women and on women's responses to it - such as depression, splitting and eating disturbances - this volume furthers the radicalization of feminist therapy. It serves as a comprehensive introduction for trainees and as an ongoing resource for social service workers and therapists. Providing detailed and grounded guidance, the author examines feminist approaches to working with women and discusses issues often omitted or pathologized in general feminist counselling texts, including prostitutes battered by pimps and self-mutilation. She explores such central questions as how women can empower themselves in a sexist society; what forms internalized oppression takes and how clients can be hel
`How hard it is to find a book to recommend to trainees, which will give them an insight into what counselling (and psychotherapy too, for that matter) is really like. This book does exactly that.... This is a book which would be equally useful to the humanistic practitioner and the more orthodox one. The breadth of sympathy is admirable in dealing with what is common to all orientations. This is one of those rare books which does justice both to the human experiences involved in counselling and psychotherapy, and to the theory which might explain those experiences′ - Changes What is the experience of counselling from the perspectives of both client and counsellor? What can be learned for the practice of counselling from an understanding of how it feels to be a client or a counsellor? Addressing these questions, central to this book are the personal accounts of individual clients and counsellors, who each relate their own very different experiences of counselling. They explore such issues as identity, expectations, trust, power and boundaries in the client-counsellor relationship. And each examines the intense personal meanings of `success′ or `failure′ in the client or counsellor role. An analysis of the implications for the counselling relationship concludes the volume.
"Feminist theory has viewed violence against women as a result of a male-dominated society, but traditional counseling models for battered women have largely failed to encourage social change as a solution to this disturbing epidemic. Offering challenging arguments on the power of the counseling relationship to initiate change, Counseling to End Violence Against Women unites feminist and radical feminist theory and counseling practice to promote women's liberation from violence and sexual oppression. In her comprehensive model, author Mollie Whalen examines the historical roles of the women's movement and the battered women's movement in relation to the development of a politically subversive approach to counseling. Whalen's model focuses not only on empowering individual women but on seizing the collective power of women to end their victimization. Grounded in theory, this practical model also addresses professional issues that confront counselors in their work with battered women. In Counseling to End Violence Against Women, Whalen reconstructs the role of counseling with victimized women and promotes a valuable model for use in treatment and training. Counselors and counseling students will find her perspective challenging and invaluable."--Publisher's description.
"Feminist therapy came into existence toward the end of the 1960s. Feminist practice is psychology derived from the realities that lie outside, beneath, and at variance from the visions of the dominant patriarchal mainstream. It is an integrative and competency-based paradigm that perceives human beings as responsive to the problems of their lives, capable of solving those problems, and desirous of change. It is also a politically informed model that observes human experience within the framework of societal and cultural realities and through the dynamics of power informing those realities. This book represents an attempt to synthesize feminist therapy's heritage and roots, theory, and modes of practice as they stand in the early 21st century. The model of feminist therapy described in this book is strongly influenced by multicultural and global feminism and by the politics of the social justice movements of feminism, multi-culturalism, and other similar movements working to transform society. Feminist therapy and feminist therapists face the next eight decades of the 21st century wondering how transformations of our understandings of sex and gender, of power and relationships, and of the social and political context of therapy will transform our practice. As a model for psychotherapy, feminist therapy continues to offer the concept that psychotherapy can, and should, be liberatory and that liberation is not simply a freedom from distress but a move toward the power of being able to know and name one's experiences of oppression as well as those of joy."--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
"Dr. Jill Schwarz' Counseling Women Across the Lifespan is tailor made for gender-specific counseling courses. This text is highly accessible and comprehensive, and includes specific learning objectives, state-of-the-art research, and questions for student reflection and discussion. Importantly, each chapter is a Call to Action for all counselors to be advocates for change in a world that desperately needs empowering approaches for counseling girls and woman." - Mark Woodford "Within the pages of Counseling Women Across the Lifespan lay the seeds of professional and personal transformation. The text provides a comprehensive review of the issues that today's women face, while providing practical ideas for intervention and advocacy. With thought-provoking reflection questions at the end of each chapter, testimonials from graduate students who have been transformed as a result of this work, and actionable steps that you can take on behalf of women's rights, you cannot be but changed after engaging with this compelling text." - Corinne Zupko This book, the first comprehensive text to focus specifically on counseling women and girls, provides a sweeping overview of female life span development and issues and offers a unique integration of prevention, advocacy, and interventions. With contributions from leading scholars and practitioners in diverse fields, it provides information, resources, and practical suggestions that counselors can use to help empower individual women and girls to live as their authentic selves, and to engage as effective collaborators in addressing societal inequities. With a strong focus on empowerment and adherence to a social justice framework, the book highlights the value of mental health practitioners employing strengths-based approaches and advocating for systemic change. Based on a foundation of understanding females' diverse holistic development, the text explores the major theoretical approaches relevant to counseling and psychotherapy with women and girls. It then discusses the key issues faced by females at different developmental stages and describes appropriate counseling strategies for each, focusing on prevention as well as intervention. Specific concerns and strategies for women in different contexts, such as education, physical health and body image concerns, and violence, are emphasized. Unique to the text is coverage of how men specifically can serve as allies and advocates in creating healthier and safer societies for women and girls. Replete with supporting features such as learning objectives, self-reflection prompts, personal narratives, discussion questions, abundant resources, and strategies for how professionals can serve as advocates and change agents, this book is an ideal core text for courses on counseling women or gender issues in counseling, social work, psychology, marriage and family therapy, and women's studies programs, as well as a useful resource for mental health practitioners. Key Features: Uniquely covers life span development and counseling issues, needs, and application for females across the life span Emphasizes advocacy, prevention, and practical intervention strategies Examines the contextual elements that affect the female experience, including the oppressive structures in which they live Addresses global perspectives, diverse women, a social justice framework, and empowerment Includes learning objectives, first-person accounts, "Calls to Action" and self-reflection and discussion questions A sample course calendar and syllabus are available to instructors to aid in course development
This substantially revised fifth edition of a classic text includes an updated preface, new content on the therapeutic relationship, substantially revised chapters on the middle phase of counselling and reflections on the influence of other modalities and shared aspects of practice across approaches. Each chapter now includes an annotated Further Reading section to help deepen knowledge and reinforce learning of key aspects of the counselling process.
Feminist Groupwork explores the purposes, practice and effectiveness of groupwork with women, drawing upon the authors' own involvement in setting up and running community-based women's groups. The book offers clear accounts of the structured content of group sessions and the definitions and measurements of change developed by participants. It makes a convincing case for adopting a feminist approach with women who are isolated in their own communities and who bear the brunt of socio-political disadvantage. Central to the book is the focus on women's understandings of themselves and their experiences, and how groupwork can lead to potentially liberating interpretations with profound consequences for participants' lives. Women are encouraged to recognize their resilience, survival skills and strengths. Feminist Groupwork was awarded a 1992 Distinguished Publication Award by the Association for Women in Psychology, USA.
