This work reviews the history of the feminist and psychoanalytic theory of female development and personality. The book aims to offer therapists more effective perspectives on psychotherapy in relation to women by providing an integration of the two subject areas.
This book is on clinical issues in the psychotherapy of women. It is the companion volume to Charlotte Prozan's Feminist Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, which traces the history of psychoanalytic and feminist understanding of female development and personality and demonstrates that both psychoanalysis and feminism have much to learn from each other. Psychotherapists need a thorough understanding of feminist issues in order to help women with today's conflicts and opportunities. The feminist movement has brought attention to the many ways that girls and women have been taught to limit their aspirations and have suffered from deprecation and sexual exploitation. Not all patients are alike, and not all women patients are alike. Some must learn to let down barriers and make a connection to the therapist, whereas others need assistance to construct ego boundaries and not merge with the therapist. Some need to recognize anger and express it, whereas others are filled with undifferentiated rage and need help in clarifying. understanding, and controlling anger so that it can become a constructive tool rather than a destructive identity. Some need to learn to cry, and some need to stop crying and make changes. Prozan covers all the major clinical issues faced in therapy with women: mother-daughter relationship, the fears of women, problems of the new woman, eating disorders, battered women, sexual abuse, therapist-patient sex, lesbianism, mid-life crises, problems of the older woman, and the abortion decision. With each problem Prozan reviews both psychoanalytic and feminist approaches and illustrates their integration with clinical examples, including process recording and verbatim reports ofexactly what she says to the patient. The feminist view is an additional layer of understanding on a psychodynamic foundation. This integration offers the best possible help and hope to the many women who turn to psychotherapy in times of psychological stress.
Part of a series which discusses the history, theory and practice of different theories, as well as primary change mechanisms, empirical basis and future developments.
This volume demonstrates that there is no one feminist therapy, but rather a variety. Each has grown from the integration of feminist principles with multiple therapy theories. The authors present several products of this integration as models. The first section's chapters trace the influence of feminism on the development of feminist therapy, discuss a variety of professional issues and the goals of feminist therapy, discuss developmental issues, and examine the interface between feminist and psychotherapy systems, including psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral and family systems. The second section includes chapters on feminist therapies with women, single female parents, men, lesbians and gays, ethnic minorities, and the elderly.
1. authenticy in feminist therapy. 2. the therapist as imposter. 3. the convergence of psychoanlysis and feminism: gender identity and autonomy. 4. feminist psychoanalysis: theory and practice. 5. female role socialization: the analyst and the analysis. 6. treatment of the imposter phenomenon in high-achieving women. 7. strategies for dealing with sex-role stereotypes. 8. psychotherapy with black women and the dual effects of racism and sexism. 9. feminist therapy with minority clients. 10. hidden assumptions in theory and research on women. 11. working women and stress. 12. a feminist approach to math-anxiety reduction. 13. some feminist concerns in an age of networking.
Feminist therapy was created in the late 1960s, concurrent with the founding of The Association for Women in Psychology. Its early practitioners had diverse lifestyles, backgrounds, and often unconventional training, but all had a common and radical goal of providing an alternative therapy for women whose mental health was still defined in terms of male-pleasing behaviours and rigid social roles. Originally published in 1995, the contributors share the personal experiences and reflections that helped them revolutionize therapy for women, particularly poignant and instructive at the time, as psychotherapy evolved from client-centred and individualistic to bureaucratic and socially and politically conservative.
Psychotherapy with Women provides a clear account of current feminist practice in working with women within the helping professions bringing together contributions from eminent women psychotherapists. A wide range of issues are explored including sexuality, ageing, family dynamics, disability and ethnicity. It will appeal to students studying social work, nursing, psychology and counselling as well as to a wide range of practitioners working in the caring professions.
In this landmark collection of original essays, outstanding feminist critics in Britain, France, and the United States present new perspectives on feminism and psychoanalysis, opening out deadlocked debates. The discussion ranges widely, with contributions from feminists identified with different, often opposed views on psychoanalytic criticism. The contributors reassess the history of Lacanian psychoanalysis and feminism, and explore the significance of its institutional context. They write against the received views on 'French feminism' and essentialism. A remarkable restatement of current positions within psychoanalysis and feminism, the volume as a whole will change the terms of existing debates, and make its arguments and concerns more generally accessible.
Understanding Women is a classic. Luise Eichenbaum & Susie Orbach, co-founders of The Women's Therapy Centre, showcase their understanding of women's psychology through case vignettes of the many women they have worked with. Their original and enlightening theory brings the mother-daughter relationship into the heart of a girl's developing self. They explain women's often troubled relationship to their bodies, the myths around emotional dependency and independence, the dilemmas of sexuality, and the need to re-theorise attachment and differentiation so that it speaks to women's experience. The book discusses the process of therapy and the challenges on the therapist to exemplify a new way of working with women in psychotherapy.
Focusing on the breadth of issues that affect psychotherapy with African American women, this unique volume is designed to help clinicians develop a broader understanding of what is useful and what is problematic when applying psychodynamic concepts to their clients. From an array of seasoned clinicians, chapters present innovative and creative reformulations of theory and technique that build upon and challenge existing models. Issues addressed include the psychological dilemmas confronting diverse African American women as they negotiate a society that is hostile to them on multiple levels; how ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation and other differences come into play within the therapeutic dyad; and approaches to unraveling the complex interplay of sociopolitical, intrapsychic, and interpersonal concerns in treatment. Filled with illustrative clinical material and pointers for practice, the volume will enhance the cultural competence of mental heath practitioners and students across a range of disciplines.