Educating Women of their Psychology - Term Paper Example

Educating Women of their Psychology Women are interesting and complicated creatures worthy of being studied in thorough detail. They are multi-faceted with each side offering still a number of layers waiting to unfold. Psychology of Women courses are avenues to learn more about how women think, feel and cope with various situations. It studies different backgrounds and cultures of women and its effects on their relationships with other people. The course offered is specific to the population of women. Population-specific psychologies on various socially defined populations have flourished with the intention of expressing and meeting the needs of such populations. Special modifiers have been added such as “female”, “Black”, “Asian”, etc. to help increase awareness of the cultural and social underpinnings of their psychology. Such diversity serves to widen perspectives to contribute to a general science of Psychology. "A study of human behavior requires first and foremost a study of the social contexts within which people move, the expectations as to how they will behave, and the authority which tells us who they are and what they are supposed to do." (Weisstein, 1992, para 1) Women, specifically, have various issues: their ongoing conflict with men in terms of expectations and roles in society; mothering; life-work balance; career; gaining and maintaining significant relationships with both men and women, sexuality; oppression and dominance and many more. These may be further dissected into cultural background; family upbringing; personality differences, etc. The list may go on and on, adding to the depth of the module specifically designed for women themselves. Understanding women entails empathizing with their particular situations. A battered wife, for instance, who chooses to stay in the dysfunctional relationship may be easily judged as weak in character, however, one needs to take into consideration her past patterns of behavior, motivations and principles. A feminist course may help enlighten such a woman about her options and empower her to choose the ones that will take her out of the abusive situation. Feminist theorists propose that the empowerment and solidarity among women, as well as the promotion of equality of the sexes leads to better conditions for women (Harlan, 1998). Increasing awareness concerning the personal and social impact of a male-dominated world cause women to better differentiate what is healthy from unhealthy behavior helping women to have personal freedom and make appropriate choices with regards to their lives (Prochaska & Norcross, 1999). More vigilant in the area of the Psychology of Women is Feminist Psychology which pushes women out of their comfort zone to confront the realities that affect women and advocate for their rights. The longstanding matter of male superiority over females is wildly contested. Such power oppresses women, hence millions of cases of violence against women come up every year. Weisstein further argues: “As long as men have power over women, our gender oppression will continue. As feminists, we need to oppose male power in all its cultural, institutional, situational, interpersonal and psychological forms. As feminist psychologists, we need to understand how resistance arises and the circumstances under which it is effective.” (Weisstein, 1992, para 6). There needs to be collective resistance in the part of women’s groups to be effective in carrying out this mission of achieving equal power with men. A study by Saunders & Kashubeck-West (2006) revealed that feminist identity development is related to psychological well-being. The results of the study also suggest that women with more advanced feminist identity may better differentiate between healthy behavior and socially ingrained behavior empowering them to choose more beneficial life alternatives. These women also experience a stronger sense of solidarity with other women and validation of their experiences as women, which are essential to improved mental health. Psychology of Women courses may be advantageous to women because they may model the feminist ideals of their professors. Stake and Rose (1994) observed that women who completed a women’s studies course reported an increase sense of positive personal change and experienced better self-confidence and assertiveness as influenced by their professors. Another branch of the Psychology of Women deals with the therapy of women with emotional or psychological problems. Feminist Therapy is one that especially focuses on a target clientele with its own generalized characteristics. Although it likewise serves men, the philosophy of the Feminist Therapy is basically premised on women’s socio-cultural issues that cause a lot of emotional and psychological turmoil for women. Feminist therapy believes that women are innately good, but external forces around her cause her negative effects. It raises awareness that women are usually oppressed by societal expectations usually set forth by men. Thus, Feminist therapy aims to empower women to push their own strengths to the fullest in order to gain the self-respect they need, regardless of what society dictates of them. Society has originally painted the ideal picture of women to be the nurturing, caring, weaker gender, dependent on the strengths and skills of men, and relegated to homemaking tasks. However, changing times have pressured them to be independent, self-reliant and strong members of the workforce. Such double standards have caused confusion and stress in women, adding more burden to her already heavy load. To quote from Corey (2005), the five goals for feminist therapy are: “equality, balancing independence and interdependence, empowerment, self-nurturance and valuing diversity. But the ultimate goal of feminist therapy is to create the kind of society where sexism and other forms of discrimination and oppression are no longer a reality.” This kind of therapy hopes to transform society by changing the way women view themselves. The feminist therapist, aware of women’s issues, must be sensitive enough to handle delicate concerns of the client. She (or he) must be willing to disclose her own experiences and use these as springboard to gain the client’s trust and to model empowered behavior. She must be clear about her own values, but discerning enough not to impose these on the client. She should know how to balance exploring both the inner and outer worlds of the client if the client is to find a way to take action in her own life. The therapist has enough influence on the client as to choosing the direction the client wants to take in her life. Ultimately, the therapist helps in guiding the client to be clear about her own needs and wants and to pursue it without being too conscious of what society has to say. Sometimes, though, the therapist may tread dangerous ground if the culture and value system of the client comes into the picture. If a woman is raised to believe that parents are the absolute authority figures in her life, and they want her to pursue something inconsistent with her own personal goals, then the dilemma should be more sensitively handled by the therapist, bearing in mind that her client has her own value system to consider. This is where wisdom and discernment of the therapist, in collaboration with the client, becomes essential. A course specific to the study of women may also benefit men who need to understand their wives, mothers, sisters, colleagues, and other women they have relationships with. Being awakened to the struggles women go through may help them appreciate women more and understand why they are the way they are. Although offering a course specific to the population of women present several strengths, it has some shortcomings as well. It may urge people to come up with parallel or sub-psychologies that would cater to subcategories of women – battered women, mistresses, South American women, and the like. It will have the tendency to focus more on differences than on similarities among women and will veer away from the “one psychology fits all” concept (Watts, 1992). Moreso, these sub-psychologies may spring conflicting views on women that may confuse the general audience of women making it difficult to design a comprehensive introductory course module. The more passionate feminists, feeling empowered with more women sharing their more contemporary and activist views may feel more courageous in pursuing their causes, even to the point of subversion. Some may be too blinded by their feminist ideals that they fail to consider that women are not the only ones who have rights…. men too. Taking all things in consideration, coming up with a population-specific Psychology, especially for women, is still encouraged, it is useful for them to organize parameters for the group’s own benefit. Understanding a woman’s group’s own worldview takes priority over communicating it to people with another frame of reference. It is the successes or failures of its theories, research and application that will determine if such a population-specific Women’s Psychology will survive in the long run (Watts, 1992). References Corey, G. (2005) Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy, 7th ed. Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning Inc. Harlan, J. (1998). Feminism. Oxford, UK: ABC-CLIO, Inc. Prochaska, J. O., & Norcross, J. C. (1999). Systems of psychotherapy: A transtheoretical analysis (4th ed.). London: Brooks/Cole. Saunders, K.J., & Kashubeck-West, S. (2006) “The Relations Among Feminist Identity Development, Gender-Role Orientation, And Psychological Well- Being In Women”, Psychology of Women Quarterly, 30 (2006), 199–211. Blackwell Publishing, Inc. Stake, J. E., & Rose, S. (1994). The long-term impact of women’s studies on students’ personal lives and political activism. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 18, 403– 412. Watts, R.J. (1992) “Elements of a Psychology of Human Diversity”, Journal of Community Psychology, Volume 20, April 1992 Weisstein, N. (1992) “Power, Resistance, and Science: A Call for a Revitalized Feminist Psychology” Retrieved on March 1, 2008 from http://www.feministezine.com/feminist/modern/Power-Resistance-and- Science.html Read More