Work and Class Among Women with Serious Mental Illness

2020 ◽  
pp. 70-90
Author(s):  
Lauren Mizock ◽  
Erika Carr
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Serious Mental Illness ◽  
Meaningful Work ◽  
Financial Wellness ◽  
Clinical Strategies ◽  
Mental Health Challenges ◽  
Work Class

This chapter presents the literature on women with serious mental illness and the intersecting experiences of work, class, poverty, and homelessness. This chapter includes literature that sheds light on challenges related to work, class, and poverty among this unique population, including a review of data that will explore these intersecting experiences. Research is presented on the mental health challenges for women in work. The effects of a serious mental illness for these women are explored in terms of how they can interfere with pursuit of work and financial wellness. The resilience of this group is discussed with regard to carving out meaningful work. This chapter includes several case narratives, a clinical strategies list, discussion questions, activities, and a clinical worksheet (“Work and Class Worksheet”).

Women with Serious Mental Illness

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Mizock ◽  
Erika Carr
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Serious Mental Illness ◽  
Severe Depression ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Class Culture ◽  
History Of ◽  
Serious Mental Illnesses ◽  
Work Class

Women with Serious Mental Illness: Gender-Sensitive and Recovery-Oriented Care calls attention to a topic and a population that have been overlooked in research and psychotherapy—women with serious mental illnesses (schizophrenia, severe depression, bipolar disorder, and complex post-traumatic stress disorder). The book focuses on the history of mistreatment, marginalization, and oppression women with serious mental illness have encountered, not only from the general public but within the mental health system as well. This book provides an overview of recovery-oriented care for women with serious mental illness—a process of seeking hope, empowerment, and self-determination beyond the effects of mental illness. The authors provide a historical overview of the treatment of women with mental illness, their resilience and recovery experiences, and issues pertaining to relationships, work, class, culture, trauma, and sexuality. This book also offers the new model, the Women’s Empowerment and Recovery-Oriented Care intervention, for working with this population from a gender-sensitive framework. The book is a useful tool for mental health educators and providers and provides case studies, clinical strategies lists, discussion questions, experiential activities, diagrams, and worksheets that can be completed with clients, students, and peers.

Women with Serious Mental Illness, Resilience, and the Recovery Movement

2020 ◽  
pp. 24-44
Author(s):  
Lauren Mizock ◽  
Erika Carr
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Serious Mental Illness ◽  
Treatment Team ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Recovery Movement ◽  
Mental Health Issues ◽  
Clinical Strategies ◽  
The Impact

This chapter reviews the recovery movement and the importance of its role in the mental health care of women who experience serious mental illness. This chapter explores the foundations of recovery and how this perspective seeks to decrease the impact of stigma and increase self-determination, while still recognizing the role that stigma and marginalization have played in women’s experience of serious mental illness. Literature is presented regarding the basic components of recovery in serious mental illness. Ways that recovery programs for people with serious mental illness can become more sensitive to woman’s issues are discussed. The biological and developmental concerns uniquely faced by women with serious mental health issues are addressed, as well as the value of a multidisciplinary, recovery-oriented treatment team. Case narratives, a clinical strategies list, discussion questions, activities, and a clinical worksheet (“My Recovery Journey”) are included.

Preventing Retraumatization of Women with Serious Mental Illness

2020 ◽  
pp. 131-148
Author(s):  
Lauren Mizock ◽  
Erika Carr
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Serious Mental Illness ◽  
Trauma Survivors ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Feminist Therapy ◽  
Clinical Strategies ◽  
Evidence Based Treatments

This chapter discusses the increased rates of victimization among women with serious mental illness. The concept of retraumatization in mental health services is explained and an overview of the literature in this area is provided. Factors that contribute to retraumatization of women with serious mental illness in psychotherapy are discussed. Feminist frameworks and evidence-based treatments for trauma that are consistent with feminist therapy are explored. Clinical strategies for promoting an atmosphere of trust and safety for trauma survivors are provided. This chapter also includes case narratives, a clinical strategies list, discussion questions, activities, and a clinical worksheet (“Preventing Retraumatization Worksheet”).

Trauma and Sexual Objectification of Women with Serious Mental Illness

2020 ◽  
pp. 113-130
Author(s):  
Lauren Mizock ◽  
Erika Carr
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Serious Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Sexual Exploitation ◽  
Objectification Theory ◽  
Sexual Objectification ◽  
Clinical Strategies ◽  
Objectification Of Women ◽  
Experiences Of Women

This chapter reviews the feminist framework of objectification theory to help providers understand the unique experiences of women who live in a culture that views and values their bodies as sexual objects. The literature related to sexual objectification is explored, as well as the empirical links to mental health problems. The literature on sexual exploitation of women who experience serious mental illness is also examined. The implications of these unique intersecting experiences of women with serious mental illness are discussed. This chapter includes two case narratives, a clinical strategies list, discussion questions, activities, and a clinical worksheet (“Gender Role Analysis Worksheet”).

scholarly journals Therapeutic Social Control of People with Serious Mental Illness: An Empirical Verification and Extension of Theory

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brea L. Perry ◽  
Emma Frieh ◽  
Eric R. Wright
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Social Control ◽  
Serious Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Treatment ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Therapeutic Goals ◽  
Contraception Use ◽  
Client Behavior

Mental health services and psychiatric professional values have shifted in the past several decades toward a model of client autonomy and informed consent, at least in principle. However, it is unclear how much has changed in practice, particularly in cases where client behavior poses ethical challenges for clinicians. Drawing on the case of clients’ sexual behavior and contraception use, we examine whether sociological theories of “soft” coercion remain relevant (e.g., therapeutic social control; Horwitz 1982) in contemporary mental health treatment settings. Using structured interview data from 98 men and women with serious mental illness (SMI), we explore client experiences of choice, coercion, and the spaces that lie in between. Patterns in our data confirm Horwitz’s (1982) theory of therapeutic social control but also suggest directions for updating and extending it. Specifically, we identify four strategies used to influence client behavior: coercion, enabling, education, and conciliation. We find that most clients’ experiences reflect elements of ambiguous or limited autonomy, wherein compliance is achieved by invoking therapeutic goals. However, women with SMI disproportionately report experiencing intense persuasion and direct use or threat of force. We argue that it is critical to consider how ostensibly noncoercive and value-free interventions nonetheless reflect the goals and norms of dominant groups.

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