1st Edition

Diversity and Complexity in Feminist Therapy

By Maria P P Root, Laura Brown Copyright 1990
    350 Pages
    by Routledge

    350 Pages
    by Routledge

    Diversity and Complexity in Feminist Therapy is an unprecedented new book that focuses on incorporating, appreciating, and building on the differences among women. Multicultural in content and authorship, this intellectually and emotionally stimulating volume breaks new ground in the development of theory in feminist therapy. Chapters run the gamut from highly theoretical works that challenge us to examine the validity of current male, Western psychological theories, to the very personal story of one woman’s struggle with oppression and her respect for the differences between her experiences of oppression and other women’s experiences. You will also find provocative, creative, and diverse chapters that address women’s development as it relates to their ethnic, religious, socioeconomic, sexual, and age differences. The one pervasive truth throughout this unique book is that feminist therapy must be based on the experiences of all women in order to be truly representative of women in the United States. Diversity and Complexity in Feminist Therapy is a first step in moving feminist therapy to a more inclusive, global perspective and back into a more political and activist stance against the oppression that we all want to defeat.

    more from mq: introduces feminist therapists and other interested feminist behavioral scientists to an anti-racist and multicultural perspective on feminist therapy, both at the level of theory and practice. This volume is unique in several ways. One of them is in the emphasis on the development of a theoretical model for feminist therapy. While much has been and continues to be written about applications of feminist therapy, theory-building has been neglected. This volume focuses on the necessity of taking an explicitly anti-racist and multicultural perspective for such theory to be truly feminst. A second unique aspect--very close and detailed attention to feminist therapy practice with people of color, both within and outside of US culture. While this issue has been addressed in a piece-meal fashion elsewhere, or has been addressed primarily by activists challenging racism within feminist therapy, this volume offers the work of feminist therapists themselves applying feminist analyses and principles. Volume is also unique in the degree to which its author represent a diverse group within feminist therapy. This volume is not only multicultural in its intent, but also in its creation.

    HPP Diversity and Complexity in Feminist Therapy is an unprecedented new book that focuses on incorporating, appreciating, and building on the differences among women. Multicultural in content and authorship, this intellectually and emotionally stimulating volume breaks new ground in the development of theory in feminist therapy. Chapters run the gamut from highly theoretical works that challenge us to examine the validity of current male, Western psychological theories, to the very personal story of one woman’s struggle with oppression and her respect for the differences between her experiences of oppression and other women’s experiences. You will also find provocative, creative, and diverse chapters that address women’s development as it relates to their ethnic, religious, socioeconomic, sexual, and age differences. The one pervasive truth throughout this unique book is that feminist therapy must be based on the experiences of all women in order to be truly representative of women in the United States. Diversity and Complexity in Feminist Therapy is a first step in moving feminist therapy to a more inclusive, global perspective and back into a more political and activist stance against the oppression that we all want to defeat.

    Contents Introduction
    • The Meaning of a Multicultural Perspective for Theory-Building in Feminist Therapy
    • Approaching a Feminist-Principled Paradigm in the Construction of Personality Theory
    • Paths Toward Diversity: An Intrapsychic Perspective
    • On Creating a Theory of Feminist Therapy
    • A Japanese View of Dependency: What Can Amae Psychology Contribute to Feminist Theory and Therapy?
    • Is Separation Really So Great?
    • Towards Understanding the Psychology of the Filipino
    • An Analysis of Domestic Violence in Asian American Communities: A Multicultural Approach to Counseling
    • Ethnic and Cultural Diversity: Keys to Power
    • Compounding the Triple Jeopardy: Battering in Lesbian of Color Relationships
    • Resolving “Other” Status: Identity Development of Biracial Individuals
    • What Has Gone Before: The Legacy of Racism and Sexism in the Lives of Black Mothers and Daughters
    • Perceptions of the Sexual Self: Their Impact on Relationships Between Lesbian and Heterosexual Women
    • Developing a Feminist Model for Clinical Consultation: Combining Diversity and Commonality
    • Feminist Psychotherapy and Diversity: Treatment Considerations From a Self Psychology Perspective
    • Diversifying Feminist Theory and Practice: Broadening the Concept of Victimization
    • White Feminist Therapists and Anti-Racism
    • Turning the Things That Divide Us Into Strengths That Unite Us

    Biography

    Maria P P Root, Laura Brown