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Counseling Women in Midlife: An Integrative Approach to Menopause
Author(s) -
Huffman Shirley B.,
Myers Jane E.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of counseling and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.805
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1556-6676
pISSN - 0748-9633
DOI - 10.1002/j.1556-6676.1999.tb02449.x
Subject(s) - menopause , normative , psychosocial , foundation (evidence) , psychology , gerontology , medicine , psychotherapist , epistemology , history , philosophy , archaeology
Menopause is a normative life transition that is experienced by virtually all women, yet remains poorly understood. The dominance of the biomedical model results in a unidimensional definition of menopause as a biological event, ignoring the influence of cultural and psychosocial factors. Counselors who use an integrative approach can not only provide accurate biomedical information but also conceptualize menopause as a normative midlife transition. The purpose of this article is to provide a foundation in biomedical issues and to consider how these independently, and in interaction with cultural and psychosocial factors, influence the experience of menopause.