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A Study of the Role of Gender in Family Therapy Training
Author(s) -
COLEMAN SANDRA B.,
AVIS JUDITH MYERS,
TUREN MINDY
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
family process
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.011
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1545-5300
pISSN - 0014-7370
DOI - 10.1111/j.1545-5300.1990.00365.x
Subject(s) - curriculum , wife , psychological intervention , task force , psychology , family therapy , domestic violence , resistance (ecology) , suicide prevention , clinical psychology , poison control , medicine , psychotherapist , pedagogy , political science , psychiatry , ecology , environmental health , public administration , law , biology
A survey of the role of gender in family therapy training programs was conducted by the Women's Task Force of the American Family Therapy Association (AFTA) in order to determine the extent to which gender issues were included in the curriculum. Questionnaires were sent to 285 programs in the U.S., Canada, and overseas. Only 19% ( n = 55 ) of the original sample participated, with the East Coast representing the largest proportion of respondents. Findings revealed that the three most frequently addressed gender issues are: 1) the impact of cultural and economic conditions on single, female‐headed families; 2) gender issues associated with wife abuse; and 3) an examination of the implications of the therapist's gender in therapy interventions. Only 27 programs identify with a feminist model or have a clearly defined sense of gender awareness. A significant finding associated with the introduction of feminist content was the difficulty of integrating gender issues with major theoretical models. Trainee resistance and lack of faculty awareness were also considered obstacles to including gender in program curriculum.