Showing papers in "Women & Therapy in 2007"

Gender Responsive Treatment and Services in Correctional Settings

Abstract: SUMMARY As the number of women under correctional supervision continues to increase, there is an emerging awareness that women offenders present different issues than their male counterparts. This paper addresses the importance of gender in terms of program design and delivery and describes the context for the development of effective gender-responsive programming for women. Using the pathways theory of women's criminality, the elements that should be considered in women's treatment and services are addressed, such as: program environment/culture, staff competencies, theoretical foundation, treatment modalities, reentry issues, and collaboration. The content of gender-responsive programming that integrates substance abuse and trauma services is also discussed.

Mental health services seeking in sexual assault victims.

Abstract: Sexual assault victims experience significant mental health sequelae from being victimized. Despite these psychological symptoms, survivors seek traditional mental health services at low rates. Little research has addressed the potential barriers that may lead to lower rates of mental health service seeking or whether these services in fact help survivors to recover from the psychological impact of sexual assault. This paper reviews literature on sexual assault victimization and mental health service seeking to examine what is currently known. Certain demographic background, assault characteristics, and post-assault factors appear to be related to likelihood of mental health service seeking, yet most studies of correlates of victims' help-seeking have been limited to nonprobability samples. Suggestions for theory, research, and clinical practice are made including longitudinal investigations studying a range of potential mental health support sources and development of innovative mental health se...

Feminist Therapy: Its Use and Implications for South Asian Immigrant Survivors of Domestic Violence

Abstract: Feminist therapy is a compelling framework to use with women who are survivors of domestic violence due to its focus on power and oppression in women's lives. However, feminist frameworks have been criticized for their lack of attention to the experiences of diverse groups of women, a shortcoming that multicultural frameworks have attempted to address. Very little scholarship exists on the use of feminist therapy with South Asian women, and with Asian American women in general, particularly on its use with domestic violence survivors. The work that does exist suggests that Asian values are in contrast with the principles of feminist therapy for a variety of reasons. Using interviews with practitioners who work with battered South Asian women, this paper suggests that practitioners enact feminist and multicultural principles in their work, by their attention to sociocultural context, their focus on women's empowerment and voicing women's lived experiences, and their consideration of the dynamics of the therapeutic relationship. They hold patriarchy in its complexity accountable for domestic violence in the community. Although the term “feminist” was rarely used, in contrast to work that suggests that Asian women would not identify with self-based models of therapy, practitioners articulated that women do benefit from insight-based therapy, and attempted to work against cultural stereotypes that they often see functionally used to evade addressing trauma and grief.

When Recounting the Traumatic Memories is Not Enough: Treating Persistent Self-Devaluation Associated with Rape and Victim-Blaming Rape Myths

Abstract: Rape is not only a vicious physical assault; it is similarly a horrific attack on the self. The violation of rape survivors' innermost boundaries commonly injures their very core of being. Moreover, victim-blaming rape myths frequently magnify and deepen the original wounds. The result can be extreme and incessant guilt and shame that are often quite unresponsive to treatment. This paper seeks to address a gap in the literature concerning the treatment of the combined impact of rape and related internalized rape myths on survivors' sense of self. Explicit guidelines for therapy are outlined in accordance. To be most effective, treatment must provide a therapeutic environment free of all prejudicial attitudes toward rape survivors, wherein rape-specific injuries to the self are directly and empathically addressed.

The Double Binds of Our Bodies: Multiculturally-Informed Feminist Therapy Considerations for Body Image and Eating Disorders Among Asian American Women

Abstract: SUMMARY In the dominant culture of the United States (U.S.), Asian American women contend with racial and gender-specific stereotypes that relate specifically to the images of the Asian American woman's body. Recent literature on the body image and eating disorders of Asian American women reveals that beyond the issues of body shape, weight, and traditional diagnoses, issues of racism, racially specific parts of the body, and eating disturbance beyond the traditional diagnostic categories may hold significance. A review of the literature and multiculturally-informed feminist therapy approaches to addressing issues of body image and eating disorders among Asian American women are presented.

Criminalized Mothers: The Value and Devaluation of Parenthood from Behind Bars

Abstract: SUMMARY With the number of incarcerated women rising in the United States, scholarship and activism has focused more explicitly on the backgrounds, criminal contexts, and programming needs of the imprisoned population. This article focuses on motherhood and relies on qualitative life-history interviews with thirty women in a southwestern detention center. The women's narratives are used to further our understanding of the ways in which motherhood (1) resonates with incarcerated women's self-perceptions, (2) relates to their motivations for crime, and (3) informs therapeutic programming within the carceral1 environment. In order to address the needs of a critical, yet often ignored, correctional population, we specifically examine the ways in which gender-specific therapeutic approaches may be applied to a jail facility where continuous, in-depth programming may be challenging due to inmate turn-around and unrest.

Locked Up Means Locked Out: Women, Addiction and Incarceration

Abstract: SUMMARY In one of the quietest but most significant social phenomena of our time, national statistics indicate that the number of incarcerated women has quadrupled over the last 20 years. The status of women of color in America, already precarious, is further eroded under this new world order, as 54% of the incarcerated female population is African American or Latina. Harsh drug laws, mandatory sentencing, and policing strategies which focus on smaller crimes have succeeded in netting large numbers of mothers, grandmothers, single breadwinners and other women whose primary offenses prior to arrest were being poor and often having a substance abuse problem. Once incarcerated, new difficulties are visited upon these women, including family dissolution, precipitous declines in mental health, and often loss of child custody as legal cases wend their way slowly through the system. The commonly reported statistic that 80% of all crimes committed have drug involvement holds true for women as well. Most women in ...

Asian American Women and Suicide: Problems of Responsibility and Healing

Abstract: SUMMARY Recent data on the alarming suicide rates among Asian American women are directing increasing public attention to this important mental health issue However, very little is known about Asian American women's suicides from the perspectives of Asian American women themselves This study examines the narratives of Asian American women suicide survivors about problems of responsibility for the purpose of therapy or healing In particular, the study examines the role of individually focused healing therapies that seek to adjust the individual to society without questioning the power of racial and sexual subjection in hindering contexts for healing As a result of a lack of language for suicide that moves beyond binarist discourses of victimhood or recovery, suicidal Asian American women are forced into silence about their psychic traumas or to represent their pain in self-destructive ways The article suggests a rethinking of psychotherapy and healing that acknowledges the complex coexistence of agenc

Moving from Needs to Self-Efficacy

Abstract: SUMMARY One hundred women participated in a needs assessment and goal-planning process at a community-based agency soon after release from prison. The assessment indicated some fit between women's identified needs and how they placed themselves on “contemplation” ladders that facilitated their planning for reentry. Follow-up interviews with 14 women found a high level of satisfaction with the process, though they struggled with unmet goals. Participants and social service providers made programmatic recommendations that go beyond social services to address economic and self sustainability in the transition from prison to community.

The Construction of South-Asian-American Womanhood: Implications for Counseling and Psychotherapy

Abstract: SUMMARY This article explores the ways in which South-Asian womanhood is socially constructed in the context of gendered racism in the U.S. mainstream society and gender-role expectations within the various South-Asian-American communities. These conceptions create a double bind for South-Asian-American women in which cultural loyalty and gender empowerment are placed in diametric opposition to each other. The framework of feminist multicultural counseling competence is used to discuss ways in which therapists can become more self-aware, acquire culture-specific knowledge, and develop culturally congruent interventions that incorporate the impact of gendered cultural dynamics in the lives of South-Asian-American women.

Negotiating Contradictions: Sexual Abuse Counseling with Imprisoned Women

Abstract: SUMMARY Front-line workers, advocates, researchers and correctional officials in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. have recognized the high proportion of imprisoned women who have experienced childhood sexual abuse and have called for the development of appropriate prison counseling services that take into account women's histories of trauma (Battle et al., 2003; Covington, 1998; CovingtonB Scott, 2004; Task Force on Federally Sentenced Women, 1990; Van Wormer, 2001). Although researchers have pointed out the contradictions in providing treatment within an institution whose mandate is to punish (Girshick, 2003; HeneyK Kendall, 1994; McCorkel, 2003; Scott, 2004; Marcus-Mendoza&Wright, 2004), very few mental health researchers, with the exception of those who point to the re-traumatizing nature of imprisonment on survivors of childhood abuse, incorporate this understanding of the prison environment into their recommendations of therapeutic approaches. In particular, little attention...

“We're Not All That Criminal”

Abstract: SUMMARY The theoretical and empirical traditions of those of us in academia toward the study of “women offenders” has led to a myopic approach to research based on the implicit assumption that criminalized women are markedly different from the rest of mainstream “law-abiding citizens.” This treatment-based approach individualizes criminalized women and increasingly places the blame on cognitive deficiencies to account for one's wrongdoing. Such approaches are devoid of any contextual analysis as to why certain groups of marginalized women are criminalized in the first place. Canada has taken a lead role in developing therapeutic measures to correct and normalize those women (and men) it deems to be failures in our society. To counter the notion of Canada as the benevolent jailer, this essay interrogates the discourse surrounding women's involvement in crime by deconstructing the language which dominates in Canadian prisons; counteract the cognitive-based model of “corrections” which portrays criminalized ...

Running from the Demon

Abstract: This exploratory study utilized qualitative data from three sets of baseline and post-treatment focus groups to explore the expectations, perceptions, and experience of 14 Hmong women participants in therapy groups conducted in a primary care setting. This new therapy group intervention, based on relational/cultural theory and using narrative therapy, was designed to be culturally specific while striving for integration, and multidisciplinary in order to reflect the interconnection among an array of factors affecting mental health. Participants were generally positive in their assessment of the therapy group experience and made few negative comments about the group. The data suggest that this intervention is effective in helping Hmong women to gain social and emotional support, be able to identify coping mechanisms, and integrate Western and Hmong practices.

Children and Families: Mothers Who Are Incarcerated

Abstract: SUMMARY The incarceration of women who are mothers affects not only the women, but their children and families. The children are at high risk developmentally, psychologically, emotionally, and economically. This article identifies concerns and interventions for the children, families, and incarcerated women. Risk factors, as well as resiliency factors, are recognized, framing the intervention work needed to support optimal growth, development, and mental well-being of the children and families of incarcerated mothers

Eating Disorders in Asian American Women: Integrating Multiculturalism and Feminism

Abstract: SUMMARY This paper discusses factors that contribute to the development of eating disorders in Asian American women. We provide a conceptual framework for understanding how culture interplays with risk factors at societal, familial, and individual levels. Because of the complex interplay of factors associated with the development of eating disorders in Asian American women, treatment efforts should target risk factors along each of the aforementioned domains. Clinical issues in treating Asian American women are discussed and treatment recommendations are provided.

An Ecological Approach to Understanding Incarcerated Women's Responses to Abuse

Abstract: SUMMARY Although women are often criticized for not leaving abusive relationships, most abused women actively attempt to protect themselves. This study proposed an ecological model to explain strategic responses to abuse, evaluating factors at four levels: Childhood, Relationship, Individual Impact of Abuse, and Community. Data was retrospectively collected from 85 incarcerated women, a population that is disproportionately affected by trauma and has unique intervention needs. A series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses confirmed that the proposed ecological model accounts for variance in six strategic response categories: placating, resisting, safety, legal, formal, and informal. Findings are discussed in terms of intervention implications.

Two Moms and a Baby

Abstract: Lesbian mothers are often excluded from the experiences, wisdom, and folklore shared by heterosexual mothers. Their support system may not include other lesbian mothers, and fear and hatred may prevent heterosexual mothers from sharing their experiences with lesbians. Moreover, the wisdom often passed from mother to daughter is often denied to lesbians who have been rejected by their family of origin, or whose family of origin disapproves of lesbian motherhood. These circumstances leave lesbian couples choosing motherhood few options for information and support-prompting many to turn to professionals. This paper provides research-based answers to the many questions future lesbian parents may have as they begin to explore bringing a child into their lives. It also provides a list of questions counselors may want to explore as they begin a counseling relationship with a lesbian couple choosing motherhood.

Locked Up, Then Locked Out

Abstract: SUMMARY Women prisoners face tremendous psychological, emotional, and physical hardships inside prison. These include isolation, separation from their families and children, lack of medical care and general abuse of their basic human rights. When they are released from prison, women confront institutional as well as psychological barriers to a successful return to their communities

Finding a voice in Shakti: A therapeutic approach for Hindu Indian women

Abstract: SUMMARY Despite their growing numbers, Asian Indians in the U.S., specifically Indian women, seek mental health services at a lower rate than other populations, but not due to a lesser need. This paper seeks to present an emergent intervention model for working with Hindu Indian immigrant and second-generation women by incorporating components of Hinduism and an understanding of the cultural ideals and gender roles in Indian culture. Cultural values and religious beliefs are explored through descriptions of the roles of women, impact of immigration, and the ethnic-specific constructs of mental illness and spiritual functioning for this population. Special emphasis is placed on the Hindu concept of Shakti, spiritual feminine power, explicating the conflict between the dichotomous roles maintained by Indian women living in the U.S. and ways in which Shakti can serve as a construct of change in the therapeutic process. Information for a therapist to apply these principles even when unfamiliar with Hinduism i...

Too Maternal and Not Womanly Enough

Abstract: SUMMARY The paper discusses the unique challenges Asian-American women face in defining their gender identity. The variations between the views of Asian immigrant mothers and their daughters on their identity and roles as women reflect their respective socialization. Whereas the mothers have been socialized in traditional Confucian, gender-specific cultures wherein women are afforded fewer economic and social opportunities to develop as individuals, their daughters are immersed in American culture conducive to the development of gender ideals of personal autonomy, self-definition, and egalitarianism. The daughters' life experience and exposure to two distinct and often conflicting cultural orientations of female gender ideals enable them to broadly exercise their discretion in redefining and creating their own identity as a distinct group of women in the United States. Complications arising out of the daughters' inability to breach their Eastern heritage with mainstream ideals are discussed in the context...

Countering Correctional Discourse

Abstract: SUMMARY This article discusses the development of a feminist support group for women prisoners enrolled in a six-month substance abuse treatment program in an adult correctional facility in Guam. After the completion of five Group cycles, a follow-up study was conducted in the community using qualitative, feminist, and participatory methods. Results indicate that the Group was successful in helping women prisoners to address trauma, addiction, and the stresses associated with incarceration. Nevertheless, participants reported having significant difficulty transitioning into the community upon release and 23% were sent back to prison for parole violations. Recommendations are outlined for gender-responsive programming, both within women's prisons and in the community, to support women offenders after release.

Group Work with a New Population: Women in Domestic Relationships Responding to Violence with Violence

Abstract: An unanticipated consequence of pro-arrest policies for domestic violence is the arrest of women. With the resultant creation of court-ordered groups to accommodate this new population, a thorough understanding of the motivations, contexts, and consequences of women's use of violence is needed. Widely used current treatment models are reviewed, and a model is proposed. This model incorporates aspects of group process (group leadership, group development, mutual aid, self-determination, and member roles) and group content (safety issues, dynamics of abuse, anger management, children's issues, coping strategies, empowerment and community resources, exploring prior victimizations, relationship issues, and self-nurturing).

Speculation as to why Women “Get” PTSD More Often Than Men

Abstract: There is a great deal of speculation about why women are at greater risk than men for being diagnosed with PTSD. Among the plausible arguments are (1) differences in the types of trauma experienced, (2) inflated rates due to methodological gender bias, (3) socially defined social roles and confounding stressors, (4) biological differences, and (5) differences in cognitive perceptions of traumatic events. The following conceptual study outlines and disputes these arguments using relevant research findings and logical reasoning, while paying particular attention to how the arguments interplay in feminist therapy.

Group Counseling with Asian American Women: Reflections and Effective Practices

Abstract: SUMMARY This article presents culturally specific practices with counseling Asian American women in the group modality. Using a theoretical framework that integrates multiculturalism and feminism, this article offers collective reflections from three Asian American female therapists and their experiences as facilitators of two Asian American women's groups on a college campus. The overall structure, design, and format of the groups are discussed, from recruitment, screening, and conducting the first session to termination. Central themes such as identity and value conflicts, as well as dynamics within the two Asian American women's groups are also illustrated. Lastly, limitations to the observations presented in this article are discussed.

Voices of Pride: Drama Therapy with Incarcerated Women

Abstract: SUMMARY This paper demonstrates how drama therapy assists incarcerated women in freeing themselves from internalized oppressive beliefs. In the context of a drug and alcohol treatment program for incarcerated1 women, the authors assist the women in building three distinct bridges to healing: a new relationship to one's self, to other women, and to the community. Writing exercises, performance techniques, and group drama therapy empower women to express their diverse voices. As the women risk sharing their personal stories and journeys of recovery, they begin to actively envision a different future for themselves. The participants discover talents that offer them an opportunity to experience themselves in a different light, no longer bound by the stigma of being in prison

"Making a difference": Asian American women leaders.

Abstract: SUMMARY This paper attempts to explore the intersection of Asian American culture and gender on leadership. This qualitative study examined the lives of two Asian American women leaders, building on a previous study conducted by Kawahara, Esnil, and Hsu (in press). Six themes from the previous study are found as well as two new themes which emerged from the two interviews. Limitations of current psychological theories on intersecting identities are discussed.

Training Therapists to Be Culturally Sensitive with Asian American Women Clients

Abstract: SUMMARY We describe here a developmental sequence of three key training experiences that contribute to developing cultural sensitivity for clinicians who are not of Asian heritage and are working with Asian American women. The sequence reflects and illustrates our guiding assumptions for developing multicultural sensitivity, including an emphasis on cultural self-awareness and a reflexive approach to knowledge acquisition and clinical practice. Effects of these training experiences are illustrated through three case examples of therapy with Asian American women written by an African American male and two European American female therapists at different stages in their training.

Asians and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders Midlife Lesbians' Health: A Pilot Study

Abstract: SUMMARY The purpose of this pilot study was to determine actual and potential health issues of midlife lesbians who were Asian American, Native Hawaiian, or other Pacific Islanders (A-NHOPI). We explored the health status (body composition, “outness,” smoking, alcohol, and abuse) of 29 A-NHOPI lesbians; 34.5% were totally disclosed to family, co-workers, and health-care providers. They reported high rates of quitting smoking, and low rates of smoking and alcohol abuse. Childhood physical abuse was reported by 34.7% and childhood sexual abuse was reported by 28.6% of these women. Findings from this study will assist therapists with some of the issues affecting A-NHOPI midlife lesbians.

Psychotherapy for Asian American Woman Warriors

Abstract: SUMMARY To treat Asian American women in psychotherapy, one needs to be cognizant of the images they conjure up. Negative images common in the media and literature need to be replaced by empowering ones if we are to be responsive to multicultural and feminist values. The passive, self-effacing, exotic China doll needs to be replaced by the Woman Warrior image, a classic in Chinese mythology. A look at the evolution of women's roles in China, and the influence of Taoist as well as Confucian philosophy, is important to properly anchor empowering roles for women to be supported in psychotherapy.