ABSTRACT
In recent years, mental health practitioners have been exploring how women are balancing work and family. Given how this issue affects women’s experiences in the corporate world and at home, marriage and family therapists are attempting to consider this concern as they treat female clients individually and within relational systems. Few articles and studies have examined the issues female employees face in the workplace and how the issues influence the therapeutic process. In this article, the authors examine the organizational, sociological, and cultural challenges women deal with at work and apply these areas to the therapeutic context. The authors present a case study of a female client enduring a difficult work situation, discussing how to view and approach this case from a feminist family therapy perspective.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
C. Anrade K. Postma K. Abraham (1999) ArticleTitleInfluence of women’s work status on the well-being of Indian couples The International Journal of Social Psychiatry 45 65–75
M. P. Bell M. E. McLaughlin J. M. Sequeira (2002) ArticleTitleDiscrimination, harassment, and the glass ceiling: Women executives as change agents Journal of Business Ethics 37 65–76
M. Buckley (2002) ArticleTitlePsychotherapy with compulsively striving professional women 2 Psychodynamic Practice 8 85–98
R. Campbell S. Raja P. L. Grining (1999) ArticleTitleTraining mental health professionals on violence against women Journal of Interpersonal Violence 14 1003–1013
Carruthers, P. A. (2003). A feminist family therapy: Therapeutic interventions to egalitarian family relationships. Dissertation Abstracts International, 63, 8B. (UMI N. 3905).
M. C. Clark R. S. Caffarella P. B. Ingram (1999) ArticleTitleWomen in leadership: Living with the constraints of the glass ceiling Initiatives 59 65–76
M. Danoski S. Deacon (2000) ArticleTitleUsing a feminist lens in contextual therapy Family Process 39 IssueID1 51–66
S. Fineran (2002) ArticleTitleAdolescents at work Violence Against Women 8 953–967
C. Guanipa S. R. Woolley (2000) ArticleTitleGender biases and therapists’ conceptualization of couple difficulties The American Journal of Family Therapy 28 181–192
R. T. Hare-Mustin (1978) ArticleTitleA feminist approach to family therapy Family Process 17 181–194 Occurrence Handle678351
R. T. Hare-Mustin (1989) The problem of gender in family therapy theory M. McGoldrick C. M. Anderson F. Walsh (Eds) Women in families: A framework for family therapy Norton New York 61–77
S. Helgesen (1995) The female advantage: Women’s ways of leadership Doubleday Currency New York
A. R. Hochschild A. Machung (2003) The Second Shift Penguin New York
K. E. Holm R. J. Werner-Wilson A. S. Cook P. S. Berger (2001) ArticleTitleThe association between emotion work balance and relationship satisfaction of couples seeking therapy The American Journal of Family Therapy 29 193–205
D. M. Kolb D. Meyerson (1999) Keeping gender in the plot: A case study of the body shop A. Rao R. Stuart D. Kelleher (Eds) Gender at work: Organizational change for equality Kumarian Press West Hartford, CT 129–154
H. Mausner-Dorsch W. W. Eaton (2000) ArticleTitlePsychosocial work environment and depression: Epidemiologic assessment of the demand-control model American Journal of Public Health 90 1765–1770 Occurrence Handle10.2105/AJPH.90.11.1765 Occurrence Handle11076247
C. McDaniel N. Schoeps J. Lincourt (2001) ArticleTitleOrganizational ethics: Perceptions of employees by gender Journal of Business Ethics 33 245–256
M. McGoldrick (1998) Re-visioning family therapy Guilford New York
M. M. Miller E. Wieling (2002) ArticleTitlePoints of connection and disconnection: A look at feminism and postmodernism in family therapy Journal of Feminist Family Therapy 14 IssueID2 1–19
A. J. Mills (2002) ArticleTitleStudying the gendering of organizational culture over time: Concerns, issues and strategies Gender, Work and Organization 9 286–307
M. E. Moore B. L. Parkhouse A. M. Konrad (2001) ArticleTitleWomen in sport management: Advancing the representation through HRM structures Women in Management Review 16 51–61
M. W. Osmond B. Thorne (1993) Feminist theories: The social construction of gender in families and society P. G. Boss W. J. Doherty R. LaRossa W. R. Schumm S. K. Steinmetz (Eds) Sourcebook of family theories and methods: A contextual approach Plenum New York 591–625
L. Parker R. Almeida (2001) ArticleTitleBalance as fairness for whom Journal of Feminist Family Therapy 13 IssueID2/3 153–168
C. Rampage (2002) ArticleTitleMarriage in the 20th century: A feminist perspective Family Perspective 41 261–268
J. L. Rhoden (2003) ArticleTitleMarital cohesion, flexibility, and communication in the marriages of nontraditional and traditional women The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families 11 IssueID3 248–256
U. R. Rout C. L. Cooper H. Kerslake (1997) ArticleTitleWorking and non-working mothers: A comparative study Women in Management Review 12 IssueID7 264–275
V. Soni (2000) ArticleTitleA twenty-first-century reception for diversity in the public sector: A case study Public Administration Review 60 395–408
J. Tata (2000) ArticleTitleInfluence of role and gender on the use of distributive versus procedural justice principles The Journal of Psychology 134 261–268 Occurrence Handle10907704 Occurrence Handle10.1080/00223980009600866
D. Viers A. M. Prouty (2001) ArticleTitleWe’ve come a long way. An overview of research of dual-career couples’ stressors and strengths Journal of Feminist Family Therapy 13 IssueID2/3 169–190
M. Walters B. Carter P. Papp O. Silverstein (Eds) (1988) The invisible web: Gender patterns in family relationships. Guilford New York
T. S. Zimmerman (2001) ArticleTitleIntroduction: Barriers to and possibilities in balancing family and work Journal of Feminist Family Therapy 13 IssueID2/3 1–2
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Miller, M.M., Bryan, L. Beyond the Frying Pan: Addressing Work Issues with Women in Therapy. Contemp Fam Ther 27, 51–63 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-004-1970-5
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-004-1970-5