Counseling Women Across the Life Span
Empowerment, Advocacy, and Intervention
Preface
Although it is challenging to capture the entirety of the female experience in a single book, this text incorporates an inclusive representation of women and girls across ages and cultures by examining the intersection of their identities and integrating experiences of women and girls around the world. The overarching themes of this book include an examination of the contextual elements that affect the female experience and a focus on prevention and intervention strategies to support the empowerment of women and girls throughout their life spans. The primary objectives are for readers to gain an enhanced understanding of the socialization and environmental factors that affect female experiences, to obtain greater utility in advocating for equality for women and girls through preventive efforts, and to implement empowering intervention strategies when counseling girls and women of all ages. Instead of pathologizing females as they survive and thrive through challenging life circumstances, this book will help readers in conceptualizing the issues females face through the context of the oppressive structures within which they live. The text integrates information, resources, and concrete strategies necessary for counselors to understand issues within the societal context, develop as advocates, and intervene as agents of social change.
The book was developed with the input of many students, professors, and practitioners and was also informed by my years of experience teaching about and counseling women and girls. It is designed to raise awareness, increase knowledge, emphasize prevention, and offer practical suggestions in a thought-provoking and digestible format. The three sections of the book provide readers with a framework of focus and also help instructors structure their courses. The first section provides a foundation for the book and offers a context for understanding gender socialization and the female experience. This section includes chapters introducing empowerment feminist therapy, gender socialization, intersectionality, and relational-cultural theory. The second section offers detailed information on developmental issues and counseling interventions for women and girls throughout their life spans. Chapters focusing on gender identity development, childhood, adolescence and young adulthood, and middle and older adulthood are included in this section. The third section provides an in-depth look at specific issues affecting women and girls and includes relevant background information and practical application for counselors. In this concluding section, readers will learn about violence against women and girls, educational and work environments, females and their bodies, and engaging men as allies.
A sample course calendar and syllabus are available to instructors to aid in course development. Qualified instructors can request this ancillary by e-mail: [email protected].
Key Features of the Chapters
Worell (2001) identified five levels of feminist intervention: prevention, education, remediation, empowerment, and community change. These themes are integrated throughout this text. Each chapter includes helpful resources to further educate yourself and others, as well as practical suggestions for advocacy efforts that can help create social change. Prevention and empowerment are key themes and foci of the text, and counseling implications and interventions are offered for each area of concentration.
Each chapter of this textbook includes several key features designed to guide your learning, make the material more relatable, and enhance your reflection and practice. At the beginning of each chapter you will find Learning Objectives, which are designed to provide context for your reading and to highlight key concepts that are the focus of the chapter. Throughout the chapters you will also find quotations—voices from the frontlines—that are actual words from girls and women (and, in some cases, men) describing their perspectives and experiences related to the content of the chapter. As you consider these “real life” voices, the relevance of material in the chapter should become even more evident.
Advocacy is an important part of the role of counselors and other mental health professionals. Consequently, in addition to suggestions for practical application for counseling practice, each chapter contains a Call to Action section that focuses specifically on guidance regarding advocacy efforts recommended for the area(s) addressed. We know that self-reflection and critical dialogue are crucial in our personal and professional development as counselors. Consequently, each chapter includes Reflection and Discussion Questions designed to personalize your learning, help you engage critically with the material, and assist in connecting you in discussion with your classmates and colleagues. Finally, at the end of each chapter, Helpful Resources are also offered to assist in these learning and advocacy endeavors. The books, documentaries, websites, organizations, and other sources listed in this section serve as a supplement to the scholarly resources provided in the References section and offer multiple avenues through which students and counselors can gain more information. Many of the resources will also be helpful to share with clients, students, and families.
Reference
- Worell, J. (2001). Feminist interventions: Accountability beyond symptom reduction. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 25(4), 335–343. doi:10.1111/1471-6402.00033