NCJ Number
142044
Date Published
1993
Length
268 pages
Annotation
A new model of female psychology is proposed that challenges the notion of the pathologized or hysterical woman; integrating psychological, legal, sociological, and historical research findings, as well as the psychology of women that has evolved over the past two decades, the model considers dissociation and posttraumatic syndromes as normal reactions to trauma and victimization, both within the family and in the wider cultural context.
Abstract
The author makes an explicit causal link between trauma and female disorders, such as borderline personality disorder, multiple personality disorder, depression, and dissociative disorders. This link is often not seen because the more benign connection between cultural programming and "female" behaviors (forgetfulness, hysteria, overemotionality, and dependence) is not made. The author then goes on to cover the diagnosis and treatment of trauma- related disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder in rape, battering, and incest and in dissociative disorders. She examines professional ethics associated with female trauma and survival, particularly therapist motives and implications of diagnosis. The book concludes by addressing special issues in therapy, such as iatrogenic symptoms, revictimization, therapy with patients who self- injure, victims of ritual abuse, and enactment and abreaction. The author refutes the idea that a gender- related biological imperative prevails in female mental health and offers a rational model for diagnosing and treating traumatized women. An overview of female victimization is presented that focuses on the historical context and on trauma and disorders of high prevalence in women. References