Women and the psychiatric paradox by P. Susan Penfold and Gillian A. Walker (1983). The central thesis of this text is that fallacious and pejorative conceptions of women are enshrined in all societal structures and fulfil a utilitarian function--the maintenance of the existing social order. In developing this contention, the authors begin with the premise that the empiricism regarding the nature of women is scanty and/or suspect in that it is influenced by ideological perspectives. A second phase in the unfolding of this argument is an identification and documentation of the ideologies pertinent to women that influence our current understanding and that underlie our social patterns. The bulk of this text explicates the manner in which the institution of psychiatry aids and abets the system in terms of its perpetuation of existing sex and gender role dicta. Several chapters focus on specific problem areas such as violence against women including rape, wife battering, incest, prostitution, and pornography. Other topics covered in considerable detail include depression, the prescription of mood-altering drugs, and a multifaceted analysis of women's role in the family. The book concludes on something of a flat note with a chapter on feminist alternatives to traditional therapy. Flaws and/or differences in stylistic preferences are relatively minor and should not deter scholars and practitioners from a thoughtful and serious consideration of the Penfold and Walker volume. Their analysis is provocative, even alarming. Any concerned therapist would benefit from exposure to this alternative ideology

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Book details

• Format Paperback
• Pages329 pages
• LanguageEnglish
• ISBN10092079209X
• ISBN139780920792094