An appraisal of the relationship between women and psychotherapy: 80 years after the case of Dora.

Abstract

This article reviews the relationship of women and psychotherapy. It suggests that the pervasive unhappiness of many women became a subject for psychotherapy, yet clinical theories of development have been inadequate in terms of women's experience. Criticisms of psychotherapy from women's perspective have focused on sex role bias and recently on the lack of understanding of disorders of high prevalence and special problems of women. Research to date has not resolved these criticisms. If psychotherapy is to serve women more effectively, new treatment models are needed as well as more sophisticated research to explicate those disorders of high prevalence for women.This article is based in part on the paper "Stop the Couch, I Want to Get Off" presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association in Montreal, September 1980.Requests for reprints should be sent to Rachel T. Hare-Mustin, Harvard University, Program in Counseling and Con-

Counselors'-in-Training Perceptions of Gendered Behavior

“…Operating in a counseling session with stereotypical assumptions of males and females has the potential to harm clients (Gillon, 2007;Tsui & Shultz, 1988;Wester & Trepal, 2008) possibly leading counselors to work within restrictive ideas of the roles and behaviors expected of men and women (Hare-Mustin, 1983). For example, it has been suggested that the majority of counselors tend to have a heterosexual bias when clients come for counseling (Phillips & Fischer, 1998), suggesting that, if not asked, counselors may assume that clients' sexual orientation is heterosexual, or that when discussing -partners,‖ clients are talking about someone of the opposite sex.…”

Gender Bias in Guatemalan Counselor Education Students: Using an Experiential Activity as a Stimulus

“…This phenomenon of female responsibility has to various degrees also been recognized as a likely feminine cultural trait in general (Gilligan, 1982;Stabb, Cox, & Harber 1997), with Stabb et al deeming this phenomenon the responsibility ethic. Hare-Mustin (1983) asserted that clinicians with this belief may view female clients in constricted roles in the counseling setting, particularly when working with couples. Consequently, such clinicians could inadvertently reinforce traditional gender roles for women, and in the process limit flexibility in problem resolution.…”

“…The professional literature and formulated standards for counselor educators have consistently encouraged promotion of student awareness of gender bias and its influence upon counseling effectiveness (I. K. Broverman, D. M. Broverman, Clarkson, Rosenkrantz, & Vogel, 1970; The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, 2001;Enns, 1993;Hare-Mustin, 1983;Morrow & Deidan, 1992). Counselor awareness of personal bias is essential for effective client diagnosis and treatment (Morrow & Deidan, 1992).…”

Gender-fair psychotherapy in the United States: A possible dream?

“…Although Freud talked and wrote almost exclusively about men, his patients were primarily women. The practice of treating women as patients, while regarding men as the prevailing standard for percept and practice, has resulted In the largely androcentric psychology of human behavior which we have today in the United States (Denmark, 1980;Hare-Mustin, 1983). In other cultures, psychotherapy, if it exists as a viable entity, may involve many complex issues to be dealt with in advance of gender-free psychotherapy.…”

“…White Freud talked and wrote almost exclusively about men, his patients were primarily women. This practice of treating women as patients, while perceiving men as the prevailing standard for percept and practice has resulted in the largely androcentric or mate-determined psychology of human behavior which we have today (Denmark, 1980;Hare-Mustin, 1983).…”