Abstract
Women have long been the primary consumers of psychotherapeutic services, outnumbering males at a ratio of two to one (Chesler, 1972; Worrell, 1980). The changing nature of male and female roles in the past 15 years, along with the mental health community’s emerging awareness of the overrepresentation of women in certain emotional disorders, has pointed to a need for a therapy better geared to helping women with the practical and emotional problems they face as they attempt the exciting but difficult transition into more expanded roles. Rational-emotive therapy, combined with a critical examination of female sex-role socialization messages, a “primordial soup” in which irrational beliefs abound, is seen as a particularly effective approach for helping this therapy population.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Agras, S., Sylvester, D., & Oliveau, D. (1969). The epidemiology of common fears and phobias. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 10, 151–156.
American Psychological Association Task Force (1975). Report of the Task Force on Sex Bias and Sex Role Stereotyping in Psychotherapeutic Practice. American Psychologist, 30, 1169–1175.
American Psychological Association Task Force (1978). Report of the Task Force on Sex Bias and Sex Role Stereotyping in Psychotherapeutic Practice: Guidelines for therapy with women. American Psychologist, 33, 1122–1133.
Barbach, L. G. (1980). Women discover orgasm: A therapist’s guide to a new treatment approach. New York: Free Press/Macmillan.
Barrett, C. J., Berg, P. I., Eaton, E. M., & Pomeroy, E. L. (1974). Implications of women’s liberation and the future of psychotherapy. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 11 (1).
Baruch, G., & Barnett, R. (1983). Correlates of fathers’ participation in family work: A technical report. Wellesley, MA: Wellesley College Center for Research on Women.
Bern, S. L., & Lenney, E. (1976). Sex-typing and the avoidance of cross-sex behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 33, 48–54.
Bernard, J. (1972). The future of marriage. New York: World.
Berzins, J. I. (1975, June). Sex roles and psychotherapy: new directions for theory and research. Paper presented at the 6th Annual Meeting, Society for Psychotherapy Research, Boston, MA.
Block, J. (1973). Conceptions of sex role: Some cross-cultural and longitudinal perspectives. American Psychologist, 28 (6), 512–526.
Block, J. (1979, March). The changing American parent: Implications for child development. Paper presented at meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, San Francisco, CA.
Boskind-White, M., & White W. (1983). Bulimarexia: The binge/purge cycle. New York: Norton.
Boston Women’s Health Collective (1976). Our bodies, ourselves. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Brehony, K. (1983). Women and agoraphobia: A case for the etiological significance of the feminine sex-role stereotype. In V. Franks & E. Rothblum (Eds.), Sex role stereotypes and women’s mental health (pp. 112–128 ). New York: Springer.
Brodsky, A. M., & Hare-Mustin, R. T. (Eds.) (1980a). Women and psychotherapy: An assessment of research and practice. New York: Guilford Press.
Brodsky, A. M., & Hare-Mustin, R. T. (1980b). Psychotherapy and women: Priorities for research. In A. Brodsky & R. Hare-Mustin (Eds.), Women and psychotherapy: An assessment of research and practice (pp. 385–409 ). New York: Guilford Press.
Broverman, C., Broverman, D., Clarkson, F., Rosenkrantz, P., & Vogel, S. (1970). Sex role stereotypes and clinical judgments of mental health. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 34, 1–7.
Chesler, P. (1972). Women and madness. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
Colao, F. (1983). Therapists coping with sexual assault. In J. Robbins & R. Siegel (Eds.), Women changing therapy(pp. 205–214 ). New York: Haworth Press.
Ellis, A. (1957). How to live with a “neurotic.”New York: Crown.
Ellis, A. (Rev. ed., 1975.)How to live with a “neurotic.”North Hollywood, CA: Wilshire Books.
Ellis, A. (1962). Reason and emotion in psychotherapy. Secaucus, NJ: Citadel Press.
Ellis, A. (1973). Humanistic psychotherapy: The rational-emotive approach. New York: McGraw- Hill.
Ellis, A. (1974). Treatment of sex and love problems in women. In V. Franks & V. Burtle (Eds.), Women in therapy(pp. 284–306). New York: Brunner/Mazel.
Ellis, A. (1977). How to live with—and without—anger. Secaucus, NJ: Citadel Press.
Ellis, A. (1979). The intelligent woman’s guide to dating and mating. New York: Lyle Stuart.
Ellis, A. (1982). Rational-emotive family therapy. In A. M. Home & M. H. Ohlsen (Eds.), Family counseling and therapy(pp. 381–412). Itasca, IL: Peacock.
Ellis, A., & Becker, I. (1982). A guide to personal happiness. North Hollywood, CA: Wilshire Books.
Ellis, A., & Harper, R. A. (1961). A guide to successful marriage. North Hollywood, CA: Wilshire Books.
Ellis, A., & Harper, R. A. (1975). A guide to rational living. North Hollywood, CA: Wilshire Books.
Fodor, I. (1974). The phobic syndrome in women: Implications for treatment. In V. Franks & V. Burtle (Eds.), Women in therapy(pp. 132–168). New York: Brunner/Mazel.
Fodor, I. (1982). Toward an understanding of male/female differences in phobic anxiety disorders. In I. Al-Issa (Ed.)Gender and psychopathology (pp. 179–195). New York: Academic Press.
Fodor, I. (1983) Behavior therapy for the overweight woman. In M. Rosenbaum & C. Franks (Eds.), Perspectives on behavior therapy in the eighties(pp. 378–394 ). New York: Springer.
Franks, V. (1979). Gender and psychotherapy. In E. Gomberg & V. Franks (Eds.), Gender and disordered behavior: Sex differences in psychopathology. New York: Brunner/Mazel.
Franks, V. (1982, April). Psychotherapy and women: Letter No. 79. Belle Mead, NJ: Carrier Foundation.
Glaser, K. (1976). Women’s self-help groups as an alternative to therapy. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice. 13, 77–81.
Goldstein, A. J., & Chambless, D. L. (1980). The treatment of agoraphobia. In A. J. Goldstein & E. G. Foa (Eds.), Handbook of behavioral interventions(pp. 322–415). New York: Wiley.
Gornick, V. & Moran, B. (1971). Woman in sexist society. New York: Basic Books.
Gornick, V. & Moran, B. (Eds.) (1972). Woman in sexist society. New York: Signet.
Grieger, I. Z. (1982). The cognitive basis of women’s problems. In R. Grieger & I. Z. Grieger (Eds.), Cognition and emotional disturbance(pp. 197–211). New York: Human Sciences Press.
Guttentag, M. & Salasin, S. (1976). Women, men and mental health. In Cates, Scott & Martyna (Eds.), Women and men: Changing roles and perceptions (pp. 33–49). Aspen, CO: Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies.
Haan, N., & Livson, N. (1973). Sex differences in the eyes of expert personality assessors: Blind spots?Journal of Personality Assessment, 37, 486–492.
Hare-Mustin, R. (1983). An appraisal of the relationship between women and psycho-therapy: 80 years after the case of Dora. American Psychologist, 38, 593–602.
Heriot, J. (1983). The double bind: healing the split. In J. Robbins & R. Siegel (Eds.), Women changing therapy(pp. 11–28). New York: Haworth Press.
Herman, S. (1977). Assertiveness: One answer to job dissatisfaction for nurses. In R. Alberti (Ed.), Assertiveness: Innovations, applications, issues. San Luis Obispo, CA: Impact.
Hite, S. (1976). The Hite report. New York: Macmillan.
Horner, M. (1969). Women’s motive to avoid success. Psychology Today, 62, 36–38.
Hunt, M. (1974). Sexual behavior in the 1970’s. Chicago, IL: Playboy Press.
Jasin, S. (1983). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of agoraphobia in groups. In A. Freeman (Ed.), Cognitive therapy in couples and groups (pp. 199–220 ). New York: Plenum Press.
Kelly, J. A., Kern, J. M., Kirkley, B. G., Patterson, J. N., & Keane, F. M. (1980). Reactions to assertive versus nonassertive behavior: Differential effects for males and females, and implications for assertive training. Behavior Therapy, 11, 670–682.
Kinsey, A. C. Pomeroy, W. B., Martin, C. E., & Gebhard, P. H. (1953). Sexual behavior in the human female. New York: Simon & Schuster, Pocket Books.
Krumboltz, H. B. & Shapiro, J. (1979). Counseling women in behavioral self-direction. Personnel & Guidance Journal, 4, 415–418.
Kuriansky, J., Sharpe, L., & O’Connor, D. (1976, October). Group treatment for women: The quest for orgasm. Paper presented at the American Public Health Association of Washington, DC.
Levine, S. V., Camin, L. E., & Levine, E. L. (1974). Sexism and psychiatry. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 44, 327–336.
Lieblum, S. (Speaker). (1980). Sexual problems of women. Cassette recording. New York: SMA Audio Cassettes.
Lief, H. (1975). Sexual counseling. In S. Romney, The health care of women(pp. 171–193). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Loeffler, D. & Fiedler, L. (1979) Woman—a sense of identity: A counseling intervention to facilitate personal growth in women. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 26 (1), 51–57.
Martin, D. (1976). Battered wives. San Francisco: Glide.
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. (1980). Mortality differentials favor women. Statistical Bulletin, 61, 2–3.
Morgan, R. (1970). Sisterhood is powerful. New York: Vintage.
Moulton, R. (1977). Some effects of the new feminism. American Journal of Psychiatry, 134 (1), 3.
New York Narcotic Addiction Control Commission (1971). Differential drug use within New York State labor force:An assessment of drug use within the general population. Albany, NY: New York Narcotic Addiction Control Commission.
Norton, E. (1981). Remarks at First Annual Women in Crisis Conference. In P. Russianoff (Ed.), Women in crisis (pp. 24–31 ). New York: Human Sciences.
O’Hare, J. & Taylor, K. (1983). The reality of incest. In J. Robbins & R. Siegel (Eds.), Women changing therapy(pp. 215–230). New York: Haworth Press.
Oliver, R. (1977). The ‘empty nest syndrome’ as a focus of depression: A cognitive treatment model, based on Rational-Emotive Therapy. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 14 (1), 87–94.
Orbach, S. (1978). Fat is a feminist issue. New York: Paddington Press.
Radloff, L. (1975). Sex differences in depression: the effects of occupation and marital status. Sex Roles, 1, 249–265.
Reskin, B. (1984). Sex segregation in the work place. In Gender at work: Perspectives on occupational segregation in comparable worth. Washington, DC: Women’s Research and Education Institute of the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues.
Rice, J. K., & Rice, D. (1973). Implications of the women’s liberation movement for psychotherapy. American Journal of Psychiatry, 130, 191–196.
Robbins, J. H., & Siegel, R. J., (Eds.) (1983). Women changing therapy: New assessments, values and strategies in feminist therapy. New York: Haworth Press.
Rothblum, E. (1983). Sex role stereotypes and depression in women. In V. Franks & E. Rothblum (Eds.), Sex role stereotypes and women’s mental health(pp. 83–111). New York: Springer.
Russianoff, P. (1982). Why do I think I’m nothing without a man?New York: Bantam.
Seligman, M. (1975). Helplessness. San Francisco, CA: W. H. Freeman.
Seligman, M. (1979). Conference on learned helplessness. Charlottesville, Virginia.
Spence, J., Helmreich, R., & Stapp, J. (1975). Ratings of self and peers on sex-role attributes and their relation to self-esteem and conceptions of masculinity and femininity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32, 29–39.
Stein, L., DelGaudio, A., & Ansley, M. (1976). A comparison of male and female neurotic depressives. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 32, 19–21.
Stuart, R. B. (1979). Sex differences in obesity. In E. Bomberg & V. Franks (Eds.), Gender and disordered behavior: Sex differences in psychopathology. New York: Brunner/Mazel.
Tepper, S. (1977). The Great orgasm robbery. Denver, CO: RMPP Publications.
Walen, S. & Wolfe, J. (1983). Sexual enhancement groups for women. In A. Freeman (Ed.), Cognitive therapy with couples and groups (pp. 221–260 ). New York: Plenum Press.
Weber, E. (1980). Sexual abuse begins at home. Ms Magazine.
Weissman, M. M., & Klerman, G. L. (1977). Sex differences and the epidemiology of depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 34, 98–111.
Weisstein, N. (1971). Psychology constructs the female, or the fantasy life of the male psychologist. In M. Garskof (Ed.), Roles women play: Readings toward women’s liberation. Belmont, CA: Brooks-Cole.
Wolfe, J. ( 1975, September). Rational-emotive therapy as an effective feminist therapy. Paper presented at the American Psychological Association Convention, Chicago.
Wolfe, J. (1976). How to be sexually assertive. New York: Institute for Rational-Emotive Therapy.
Wolfe, J. ( 1980a, June). Helping women change. Paper presented at the 25th Anniversary Rational-Emotive Therapy Conference, New York.
Wolfe, J. ( 1980b, September). Rational-emotive therapy women’s groups: New model for an effective feminist therapy. Paper presented at the American Psychological Association Annual Convention, Montreal, Canada.
Wooley, S., & Wooley, O. (1980). Eating disorders: Obesity and anorexia. In A. Brodsky & R. Hare-Mustin (Eds.), Women and psychotherapy: An assessment of research and practice(pp. 135–158 ). New York: Guilford Press.
Worrell, J. (1980). New directions in counseling women. Personnel and Guidance Journal, 58, 477–484.
Wyckoff, H. (1977). Solving women’s problems. New York: Grove Press.
Zachary, I. (1980). RET with women. Some special issues. In R. Grieger & J. Boyd (Eds.), Rational-emotive therapy: A skills based approach (pp. 249–264). New York: Van Nostrand.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1985 Institute for Rational-Emotive Therapy
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wolfe, J.L. (1985). Women. In: Ellis, A., Bernard, M.E. (eds) Clinical Applications of Rational-Emotive Therapy. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2485-0_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2485-0_5
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-9506-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-2485-0
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive